Anna Chen, Associate, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP In the recent decision, The Estate of William Harper,[1] the Court was asked to determine whether a two page beneficiary designation form that was missing its first page (the page on which the account number would be indicated) and not processed by the…
Nathan Spaling (my colleague from the Capacity Clinic) and I are often asked to conduct capacity assessments in the context of guardianship applications. On occasion, the application is brought by a parent seeking to be appointed as the guardian of property for a child who is about to become an…
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…
Generally, many of the estate litigation cases we see settle before the hearing of the application or before the matter proceeds to trial. However, quite often, minutes of settlement are not executed at the time an agreement is reached. Indeed, cases are sometimes resolved late in the evening or there…
There may be instances where a beneficiary has an immediate need to access funds held in trust yet, the terms of the trust prevent the trustees from proceeding with an income or capital distribution to such beneficiary. In such a situation, if the deed of trust grants the right to…
April is Parkinson’s Awareness month. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s that affects the brain and cognitive function. While care management for Alzheimer’s and other dementias often gets more visibility, Parkinson’s disease can be just as complex to manage. With an aging population, the incidence…
This blog has been written by Darren Lund, a partner at Fasken LLP In Ontario, trust law and family law have for some time taken very different approaches to valuing the interest of a beneficiary in a discretionary family trust. For trust lawyers, a beneficiary’s interest in a discretionary family…
Rueben Wells Leonard was an early Canadian tycoon straight out of central casting. He was a pioneering philanthropist whose views created controversy in life and after death. His story is a key part of Canadian philanthropic history, and it contains some relevant lessons for today. The Man Born in 1861…
In the recent case of Sassano v. Iozzo, 2024 ONSC 1517, the Court reviewed the applicable legal principles regarding passing over an estate trustee, and found that in the circumstances of the case, it was appropriate to pass over one of the named co-estate trustees. In this case, the applicant…
Kira Domratchev, Associate Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP The litigators amongst us are no doubt familiar with the fact that matters of public policy affect the decisions of our Courts. Public policy does not tolerate a wrongdoer profiting from their crime. The “Slayer Rule” or the “Criminal Forfeiture Rule” is where…