Can a suicide note be a valid holograph will? Maybe, and it depends upon where you live. The Ontario case of McGrath v. Joy, which decision was released at the end of 2020, dealt with whether a suicide note was a valid holograph will. My colleague, Rebecca Studin, recently blogged…
The law in Canada is not static – it evolves and changes to meet our society’s needs through incremental changes to the common law (i.e. the application and interpretation of the law through the courts) and through legislative changes. One recent change to Ontario’s laws was made through the Smarter…
Bayford v. Boese is an interesting case which serves as a reminder of the statutory requirements for due execution of a will. It also provides a thorough analysis of how judges dissect a witness’ evidence and generally determine who to ultimately believe at trial. Bruce Boese (the “Deceased”) was the…
It is well known that Ontario testators enjoy the freedom to distribute their estates as they wish (provided their statutory obligations are met); however, the recent case of RBC v. Scarborough, 2019 ONSC 3369, reminds readers to be cognizant of the impact of debts and liabilities upon those who may…
On June 29, 2019, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “HRTO”) released an interim decision which impacts upon estate trustees and which calls for some friendly scrutiny from estate solicitors and litigators. My colleague, Jacob Kaufman, blogged about a previous and related HRTO 2017 case which required that a certificate of…
NoticeConnect, which is a one stop shop for estates to advertise for creditors and provide solutions for those seeking to collect from estates has recently added a new element – an online Canada Will Registry. The Canada Will Registry went live in early June 2019. On the “Digital Will Vault”,…
I have previously blogged about solicitor’s negligence and the current state of the law with respect to, in part, determining lawyers’ liability and the applicable standard of care. As a follow-up, below is a brief list of some best practice tips to keep in mind: Communicate – keep the client…
The recent case of Sylvester v. Britton, 2018 ONSC 6620 (“Sylvester”) provides an excellent review of the law regarding incapacity, attorneys for property and personal care, capacity assessments, and other issues which often arise in estate/capacity litigation cases. While the decision addresses many interesting points, this blog will focus upon…
McGoey (Re), 2019 ONSC 80 (CanLII) is a fun case which reminds readers of the law surrounding sham trusts, but also demonstrates that the most convincing evidence can sometimes be found right on the (type)face of a document, the validity of which is in issue. In this motion, the trustee…
Today’s blog was co-authored by Joanna Lindenberg and Ronald Neal The decision of Milne Estate (Re) (“Milne”) caused a stir among the members of the estates bar and solicitors who draft wills, going so far as to illicit an alert from LawPRO. While the Milne decision (which is under appeal)…
