Articles 2022

Section Chair, Caroline Abela, provides a message to the Trusts and Estates Law Section and reports on the activities of the Section's committees for the 2017-2018 OBA executive year.

The May BBL discussion included delays in getting probate, mutual funds gifted to charities, jointly held, second-to-die life insurance policies, the use of hotchpot clauses in certain situations, and compensation for Attorneys for Property.

When administering an estate, one should be mindful of the dual effects of the executor’s year and the rule of convenience. This article discusses the recent Ontario Court of Appeal case of Rivard v Morris and when an interest payment of five per cent per year on specific bequests may be payable from the residue of the estate.

Joint ownership of property is one of the most commonly used strategies for property ownership in the context of developing an estate plan. There are specific nuances that must be addressed when dealing with jointly owned life insurance.

During the April BBL, the group discussed a number of issues, including the impact of posthumous conception on estate planning, revocation clauses, and submitting a court certified copy of a will to probate where the original will was retained in the jurisdiction in which it was originally probated.

In this article the author highlights the proposal in the 2018 Federal Budget to increase reporting requirements for trusts and the penalties for failure to comply.

With respect to predatory marriages, too often in the past, the predatory spouse has prevailed because the common law offers limited recourse; that is, until Hunt v. Worrod. Released in December 2017, Hunt v. Worrod may just have changed the legal landscape of predatory marriage in Ontario.

Topics discussed at the March Brown Bag Lunch include wait times for Applications for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, the production of medical records, estates involving digital assets, and bitcoin.

The group discussed a number of issues, including online registries for wills and powers of attorney, recent estates and trusts decisions and practices for storing revoked testamentary documents.

Proprietary estoppel protects reliance upon assurances that are made concerning the representee’s right to obtain an interest in property. In Cowper-Smith v. Morgan, the SCC held that a present interest in property is not a necessary component of the test for proprietary estoppel, and directed a remedy, in specie, when the respondent held only an interest in the corpus of the estate, not a specific interest in any asset.