An Evening with Estate Judges: Practice Tips and a call for Friends of the Court

  • 11 juillet 2024
  • Sydney Osmar, Hull & Hull LLP

On June 10, 2024, I had the opportunity to attend the Ontario Bar Association’s annual Evening with Estate Judges event, put on by the OBA’s Trusts and Estate Law section, chaired by Matthew Furrow of Arkin Furrow Estates Law LLP and Angelique Moss of Casey & Moss LLP.

This event is an annual favourite, where the Estate Bar gets to not only mingle with fellow colleagues, but also has the opportunity to hear directly from the Estate list judges on an array of topics.

This year did not disappoint, with The Honourable Justice Gilmore, Justice Dietrich and Justice Faieta sharing their insights.

Some key take aways are below:

  • As we know, the Estate list judges are extremely busy, with their days booked back-to-back. Counsel were encouraged to not book placeholder scheduling appointments, limiting such bookings to only when the appointment is required;
  • Scheduling appointments should remain for scheduling and non-complex consent matters. Even if a matter is on consent, but will require some review of material and submissions (such as a guardianship application), counsel were asked to book such matters for a 10:00am appearance;
  • Counsel were reminded that vesting orders under the Estate Administration Act (Ontario) are not to be used as a means to avoid probate fees;
  • Counsel were encouraged to review the many recent decisions dealing with s. 21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act (Ontario) for insights on how and when this section should be used;
  • Counsel were reminded to hyperlink their materials and ensure that they are uploaded in a timely manner – if they are uploaded late, there is a high risk the judge will not have time to review the materials in advance of your appearance;
  • The judges will be looking for the confirmation form, the participant information form and an aide memoire. It is also helpful to have prior endorsements and orders uploaded so that the judges can have a quick review of what has happened in the matter, and
  • Counsel were reminded that the court continues to look for volunteers to act as amicus curiae (a discussion of which follows).