This blog post was written by: Alicia Mossington, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust London Historically in Ontario, a Last Will and Testament was required to meet strict formal validity requirements to be considered valid. The requirements set out in the Succession Law Reform Act required a Will to be in…
This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust Deepseek is here, as is cheap, and easily accessible AI. Many tasks have been automated by AI recently. Customer support, student education, investment management. For better or for worse, AI is here to stay. What else can we do…
This blog post was written by: Diana Leopardi, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust Montreal Love is in the air…You may now kiss the bride; these are a couple of popular phrases often used in romantic movies but what about The Hangover movie what if your client woke up one morning…
If you have clients with assets outside Canada, they likely look to you for guidance to support drafting of testamentary documents. In a previous article we explored the considerations that should be kept in mind when assets are owned outside of Quebec, within Canada – given the civil law and…
Canadians are living longer. Current life expectancy is approximately 83 years.[1] This number has been steadily increasing annually and is expected to continue to do so[2]. One of the questions in the trivia game Outsmarted[3] played over the holidays was: “Approximately how many people over the age of 100 live…
“If I become a vegetable, I want my doctor to pull the plug!” is a sentence that many non-medical professionals have heard their client say. If you’ve ever wondered: how can I make sure my client’s medical wishes are respected? This article is for you as it gives an overview…
Death will affect every one of us, ultimately. Incapacity may impact us. The inevitability of death and the possibility of incapacity makes planning essential. Failure to plan is planning to fail. This inevitability is behind recent Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) By-law amendments that require lawyers in private practice to…
Patents What is the symbol of a true gentleman, if not his moustache? The moustache guard was patented in 1876 to protect the user’s moustache during holiday feasts. It was described in the patent application as a “curved and concave shield, which may be made of vulcanized rubber, metal or…
A report released in early 2024 reported that the average adult internet user spends six hours and 40 minutes every day online.[1] The typical social media user spends just shy of two and a half hours on social media per day.[2] Though some internet and social media use can of…
Law school requires reading an abundance of case law. I am sure that most lawyers have a few memorable cases that standout from their time in class (Lord Denning; the ginger beer snail etc.). There are cases that have stood the test of time; cases that caused a momentous shift…