When I explain to people whom I’m meeting for the first time that I’m a lawyer and that among my areas of practice I draft domestic contracts, I’m often met with a response to the effect of “You mean, like, a pre-nup?” I can confirm that a “pre-nup” is, in…
This blog was written by Adam Settecase We are living in the hyper-digital age. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the formalities for executing wills have been modified in many jurisdictions to allow for virtual witnessing via videoconference. An attestation by a witness who is not even remotely in…
The background to the unopposed motion was lurid: a prominent lawyer cut down before her time and a last-minute Las Vegas marriage to a former Russian child star. In Estate of Tanya Claudia Davies, 2022 ONSC 2009, the court stayed an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee…
Crypto assets are intangible digital assets that exist on a decentralized network through distributed ledger technology (DLT) – such as blockchain. A distributed ledger is a type of database that stores electronic records shared and replicated across many locations in numerous countries and maintained by a peer-to-peer world-wide decentralized network….
Happy Monday. Last week’s blog stressed the importance of recognizing the gift and sacrifice that Canadians caregivers provide to their family and friends on a daily basis. April 5th is National Caregiver Day when we recognize the nearly 8 million Canadians who care for family and friends who have chronic…
A recent Court of Appeal decision, Walters v Walters, 2022 ONCA 38, addresses a trustee’s requirement to give effect to a testator or settlor’s intentions when exercising discretion with respect to distributions from a discretionary trust. At issue was whether the trustees had improperly relied on extraneous or irrelevant factors…