All About Estates

Category: Estate Administration and Probate Applications

Total 110 Posts

Can solicitor-client privilege protect estate trustees from claims brought by beneficiaries?

Today’s Blog was written by Mohena Singh, Associate at Fasken LLP. As estate planners, we are regularly engaged by individuals who are acting as estate trustees. This role can often be a long endeavour as it could take several years to administer an estate. During an administration, estate trustees are…

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Ontario Residents with Quebec assets

Today’s blog was written by Douglas Buchmayer, partner with the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP A common issue facing estate planning practitioners in Eastern Ontario is the Ontario resident client owning Quebec assets, often the family cottage, which need to be dealt with in a Will. Where a…

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Administering an Estate: A Marathon of Responsibilities

We had a Zoom call with our adult children a few weekends ago. We talked about our son’s engagement, as our daughter hadn’t yet heard the details of how he had proposed. We also talked about our daughter’s recent 5K run at the Toronto Zoo and how it compared to…

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Executors: Holiday Elf or Grinch?

                                             Photo Credit: Universal Pictures This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP If you are the lucky (or more often unlucky) person appointed…

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Can a Disbarred Lawyer be an Executor?

In Re James Estate, 2023 ONSC 6432, the Court considered whether a disbarred lawyer could act as the estate trustee of an estate.

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Factors to Consider when Rebutting the Presumption that a Lost Will was Destroyed by the Testator

Today’s blog was written by Jonathon Vander Zee, student-at-law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP The original copy of a last will and testament is lost and cannot be found… now what? Losing an original copy of a will does not necessarily mean that it is no longer legally binding or…

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Gone. Now what?

Under the Declaration of Death Act, the court will make the order declaring that an individual has died if the individual disappeared in circumstances of peril or the individual has been absent for seven years.

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The Continuing Importance of the Presumption of Due Execution

Where the evidence establishes that the testator executed the will in accordance with the requisite formalities (e.g., signed in the presence of two witnesses), a rebuttable presumption arises that the testator knew and approved the contents of the will.

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The Life and Legacy of Gina Lollobrigida – An Estates Perspective

Today’s blog is written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. Italian cinema legend Gina Lollobrigida passed away at the age of 95 in January 2023.  Known by fans as ‘La Lollo’, she starred in over 60 films which included the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sean Connery….

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Facts, Mistakes, and Probate

Today’s blog was written by Christopher Cook, Student-At-Law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP In some common law jurisdictions, there exists a fascinating (but rarely applied) legal doctrine called “patent mistake.” This doctrine applies in the context of applications for probate. When asked to probate a will, the court’s task is…

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