All About Estates

Elaine Yu

Total 11 Posts Website
Elaine obtained her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Elaine articled with the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee and returned as counsel after she was called to the bar in June 2021. Elaine joined de VRIES LITIGATION LLP in June 2022. Elaine has represented clients in a wide range of proceedings including dependant’s relief claims, guardianship applications, trust claims, and other estates and trust issues. Elaine is a member of the Association des jurists d’expression française de l’Ontario and is fluent in French. More of Elaine's blogs can be found at https://devrieslitigation.com/author/eyu/

Chat, j’ai pété (and left a stink)

Since the widespread launch of cheap, accessible, generative AI platforms like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Google Bard, Cohere Coral, etc. we’ve all read the news articles and blog posts written using AI to show off the possibilities these new tools present. In the legal industry, there’s buzz around the…

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Your Wish is my Command

A guardian or attorney for personal care has a duty to make decisions in accordance with an incapable person’s wishes or instructions as they were when the person was capable. The guardian or attorney also has an obligation to try and ascertain such wishes and instructions. If it is impossible…

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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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When the End is not the end

In theory, obtaining a judgement should mark the end of litigation. In practice, it can be the beginning of the just as tedious process of collecting on the judgement by way of enforcement proceedings. The plaintiff in the case of Akhavan v Taheri found this out the hard way. On…

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You’ve been served!

The Originating Process One of the first steps taken in any court procedure is service of the originating process. Whether the procedure is by action or application, service of the originating process puts parties and others who may be affected by the outcome on notice that a legal proceeding has…

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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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What is the Consent and Capacity Board?

Capacity is a key component of estate litigation, especially in guardianship and attorneyship disputes. Questions of when someone has begun acting as an attorney for property and whether a person had the requisite capacity to designate a party as their attorney are some of the ways this issue plays out….

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The Vexatious Litigant

Litigation can be ugly. Litigation where family is involved, as is often the case in estate litigation, can bring out the worst in people. According to the court, the worst of himself is what one of the respondents brought in the recent case of Colbert v. Colbert et al, 2023…

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The Incapable Foreign Beneficiary

If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, then by now it you should know that acting as a trustee comes with a minefield of obligations and duties. Sorry folks, but I’m adding one more to the pile. The Case In Galea v. Tybel et al., a trustee of a…

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You’re not my mother!

A child’s relationship with their parents is complicated. If a child is in extended society care, previously known as being a Crown ward, that’s probably an understatement. But what happens in the unfortunate situation that a child under society care passes away? Nobody likes to contemplate the death of a…

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