Articles 2020

The writer discusses the recent British Columbia case of Devore-Thompson v. Poulain in the context of capacity to marry and the telltale signs of a predatory marriage.

The estates bar met to discuss corresponding changes and challenges in estates and trusts law since the summer months, including a review of the new ODSP amendments, will drafting for non-resident testators and drafting Wills involving Florida property

The prevalence of third party funding agreements has grown rapidly over the past several years, and the trend is beginning to permeate the Canadian market. In this article, the authors address the potential use and appropriateness of third party litigation funding in estates litigation.

In this article, the author discusses planning avenues available for dealing with social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

In this BBL session, participants discussed the introduction of CourtCall to the Estates List, recent amendments to the Succession Law Reform Act, the recent Re Morrison Estate (Alberta case), and other issues.

In his article, Ryan Tkatch discusses the importance of having a permanent life insurance policy as part of a person's investment portfolio, and the purpose of life insurance through the various stages of the life of the average Canadian.

Kimberly Whaley discusses the Ontario Court of Appeal which examined the difficulties that can arise when a parent dies while holding title to a major asset in joint tenancy with an adult child. . The case of Jansen v. Niels 2017 ONCA 312 looks at the issue of severance of joint tenancies, inter vivos gifts between parents and adult children, and undue influence.

A review of key provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act relevant to estate trustees and estate lawyers.

When administering an estate, an executor needs to settle the estate’s debts before he or she can distribute the estate to beneficiaries, and failure to do this can leave the executor personally liable for those debts. But what if an executor isn’t aware of all outstanding debts? This article contains information about the form of notice to creditors, when to publish, and other matters the executor should keep in mind in order to protect the executor and the estate.

This article contains information regarding estates owning corporations, including consideration of clearance certificates under both the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act, post-mortem tax saving strategies, and using the deceased's lifetime capital gains exemption.