Articles 2024

The article discusses the Public Sector Lawyers April 7, 2021 session on Recent Top Decisions Public Sector Lawyers Need to Know.

On Thursday, April 8, members of the estates bar gathered for the annual OBA “Evening with Your Honourable Estates List Judges,” held as a Zoom webinar this year. Despite the changed format, the event remained a valuable means for attendees to hear directly from judges about matters unique to the estates list. Members who were unable to attend can refer to this summary of some of the information provided.

The Accelerating Access to Justice Act brings significant changes to the Succession Law Reform Act and the Substitute Decisions Act. Drafting lawyers and litigators alike will want to familiarize themselves with the recent reforms, helpfully summarized in this article.

Topics covered this week included leave to issue a writ of seizure and sale outside the six year period from the date of the judgment, assault in the context of use of excessive force by police, the interpretation of a commercial lease (term length and obligation to repair roof) and an appeal from a jury award in an MVA case.

BBL discussion at the April meeting touched on topics such as the legislative changes brought about by Bill 245, ongoing issues and inconsistencies with the practice of accepting electronic signatures, Estate Information Returns, and whether it is indeed possible to get a refund from the Ministry of Finance for excess probate fees.

At the March meeting of the OBA's BBL group, the discussion focussed on electronic filing and issuance of Certificates of Appointment of Estate Trustee, various issues with the process and electronic version of the Certificates, and direction members had received from the court staff.

What is ageism, and are we as estates practitioners guilty of it? This articles considers some common practices of estates lawyers that may be driven by unconscious bias against older people, and offers suggestions on how to adjust our practices to combat that bias.

At the January meeting of the Estates List Users Committee, topics discussed included wait times for probate applications and short scheduling appearances, and current practices for filing and putting materials before a judge.