Ontario Legal Conference: Family, Estates and Real Estate Law
Whether you are a general practitioner or a specialist in residential real estate, estates or family law, it is essential that you have a comprehensive understanding of the myriad of ways in which these legal areas interact to ensure you are updated and ready to effectively represent your clients.
Join us for this unique event as we bring together lawyers from across these practice areas to unravel the complexities, examine recent developments and better understand the impacts of other legal areas on your practice. Ensure that your legal toolkit is equipped with the key information, insights and strategies that you need to provide your clients with effective and timely advice. If your practice touches on family, estates or real estate law, this is a critical event you cannot miss!
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9:00 am
Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:10 amWhat I Wish You Knew…
Join our expert panel of estates, family, and real estate lawyers as they share valuable advice on how critical issues in their own practice impact, and are impacted by, other legal areas. Get expert insights on key issues to watch out for in your own practice.
10:30 amInter-Sections Networking Break
10:50amChanges to the Succession Law Reform Act and Family Law Act: Where are we now?
Session A (Salon 1&2)Recent changes to Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act and Family Law Act continue to reshape estate rights in 2026, especially for married and separated spouses. We’ll unpack the new rules on marriage, separation, and inheritance, and share their practical impact on estate planning, family-law coordination, and emerging disputes.
Practical Considerations in Conveyancing
Session B (Salon 3)When navigating the conveyancing process, it is crucial to be aware of the practical considerations that can impact the success of your real estate transaction. Explore:
- Contracts: new build and pre-construction homes
- Financing
- Tarion Warranty: existing and new rules
- Registration closing
- Best practices for real estate lawyers: Risk management, due diligence and detecting fraud
Available between 12:00pm and 2:00pmInter-Sections Networking Lunch
12:00pmRecent Estate Decisions and Legislative Updates Every Lawyer Should Know
Hear about the latest caselaw and legislative developments to stay at the forefront of your practice.1:00pmDrafting Advice for Detailed Orders and Separation Agreements
Session B (Salon 3)- Drafting orders for the sale of property in high-conflict cases
- Navigating real estate closings during separation
- Effectively drafting terms for the release of proceeds in orders or agreements that won’t require subsequent Directions
2:00pmGuardianship: A Spotlight on Minors
Session A (Salon 1 & 2)Get a practical overview of Ontario’s legal framework for appointing guardians of minors under the Children’s Law Reform Act, including:
- Key requirements for obtaining a guardianship order
- Steps involved in the court application process
- How the “best interests of the child” principle guides judicial decisions
- Ongoing duties and responsibilities assumed by court-appointed guardians
Preserving and Securing Real Property
Session B (Salon 3)Learn helpful strategies for preserving and securing real property across a variety of client situations, including:
- When and how to use preservation orders
- Key issues for clients with multiple properties
- Matrimonial home designations and their protections
- Considerations for preconstruction condos
- What to register on title — and why
2:50 pmTrusts and Real Property: Ownership, Liability, and Tax Implications
Session A (Salon 1 & 2)Dive into the complex world of real estate held in trusts and passed through generations. Explore how trusts affect real-property ownership, liability, and taxes. Our panel of experts will delve into succession strategies for cottages, farms, and other treasured family properties. Learn practical ways to protect these assets and pass them smoothly to the next generation.
Assisting Families with Disabled Children and/or Children with Different Needs
Session B (Salon 3)- Navigating ODSP and child support for an adult disabled child
- Navigating government benefits/credits and subsidies in orders and agreements
- Parenting for adult disabled children (recent court of appeal decisions)
- Parenting Schedules for minor disabled children/children with special needs (including health care management)
- How to best serve families with children who have special needs
3:50pmInter-Sections Networking Break
4:10pmDealing with Capacity Issues: Intersection Perspectives
Get valuable insights on where capacity issues commonly arise and how to identify them, along with impacts and best practices for handling them across estates, real estate and family law.
5:00pmInter-Sections Networking Reception
Take advantage of this opportunity to engage with lawyers from across a variety of practice areas, including family, estates, real estate, litigation and criminal law. Develop your relationships, make new connections and expand your referral network.
Substantive 3h 15m
Ontario Legal Conference: Tax Law
Explore key issues at the intersection of tax, estates, and real estate law. Through expert-led sessions, we will examine practical challenges and emerging trends in CRA and provincial tax administration. Join us to get up-to-speed on voluntary disclosures, common reporting obligations in estate and real estate contexts, potential audit triggers, and current priorities in provincial tax implementation and dispute resolution, with attention on land transfer tax matters.
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9:00am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:05amManaging CRA Risk: Tax Compliance in Estate Distributions and Real Estate Transactions
- Navigating overhauled voluntary disclosure program
- Mandatory Disclosure rules regime and bare trust reporting
- How to effectively prepare compliant filings and disclosures
- Tax requirements and reporting obligations in estate administration and real estate transactions, including obtaining CRA clearance certificates
- Potential CRA audit triggers and best practices to avoid pitfalls
10:40amNetworking Break
11:00amProvincial Tax Issues: Policy and Practice
Join us to hear from key Ministry of Finance representatives and tax practitioners on current trends and priorities in tax implementation, compliance requirements, and dispute resolution processes, including a focused discussion on land transfer tax issues. We’ll unpack common challenges and best practices in addressing compliance and dispute issues in provincial tax matters to equip you to better represent your clients.
12:30pmProgram Concludes – Join us for our Inter-sections Networking Lunch
Ontario Legal Conference: Real Estate Litigation
Join us to get up to speed on current trends, recent developments and essential best practices in real estate and leasing litigation. Whether you are a litigator or real estate solicitor, our expert faculty will share valuable insights to ensure you are equipped to best represent your clients.
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12:00pm
Inter-Sections Networking Lunch
1:30pmWelcome & Opening Remarks
1:40pmFailure to Close: Need-to-Know Rights, Liabilities and Remedies
Purchase and Sale-Related Disputes- What’s your liability and what are your options?
- Impacts of defect claims
2:15pmAssignment Agreements Gone Wrong in Development Projects
Purchase and Sale-Related Disputes- Common assignment agreement disputes
- Best practices for handling these claims
2:50pmInter-Sections Networking Break
3:10pmTheory versus Reality: How Commercial Leasing Disputes Play Out IRL (“In Real Life”)
Commercial Leasing Disputes- Essential rights and remedies
- Real life considerations in litigating commercial leasing matters
- Understanding practical outcomes and commercial realities
3:45pmWhat is a Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate When a Tenant Repudiates a Lease?
Commercial Leasing DisputesThe SCC is set to hear Aphria Inc. v. Canada Life Assurance Company in February, addressing the question of a commercial landlord’s duty to mitigate. Get up to speed on:
- Key issues in the case and anticipated outcomes
- What the decision likely means for your practice
- Steps you should be taking now to best protect your clients
4:20pmCurrent Issues and Recent Developments
Easement LitigationGet up-to-speed on the latest in easement litigation, including lessons from the Court of Appeal in McClatchie.
4:50pmQuestions and Concluding Remarks
5:00pmInter-Sections Networking Reception
Tales from the Courtroom: Mentorship Through Storytelling
Before hybrid work and remote courtrooms, new lawyers would gather around seasoned litigators in courthouse hallways, lawyers’ lounges, robing rooms, and dining rooms to listen to stories of litigation trials and triumphs. These informal yet vital learning moments about law and legal life have been lost in the largely remote world we have embraced in the name of efficiency and client service. But they don’t have to be! We can have the best of both worlds.
Join us for Tales from the Courtroom to take advantage of this opportunity to learn valuable lessons from the experiences of today’s litigation leaders on how they overcome the challenges of litigating today. You'll hear candid perspectives from expert civil and criminal litigators, and gain insight into how their approaches can help you in your career. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll get the comfort that comes from knowing you are not alone in your challenges and that they can be overcome.