All About Estates

Category: Guardianship

Total 72 Posts

Ushering in the Year of the Rabbit: Symbol of Longevity

Why is it important to determine a primary diagnosis and prognosis before assessing needs? Let’s get back to basics. If the dispute relates to the care of an elderly person, it is important to determine the person’s clinical baseline based on standardized assessments.

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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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Children are not Chattels: Who Cares for a Child when a Primary Caregiver Dies?

In Marshall vs. Snow, the court was asked to determine who should be awarded primary custody of a minor child following the death of her mother (the child’s primary caregiver). Prior to the mother’s death, the child’s father and mother shared joint custody but not equal parenting time or decision-making rights…

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Role of the Health Practitioner at Board Hearings: Recommendation for Reform

The Consent and Capacity Board (“Board”) in Ontario is a quasi-judicial administrative tribunal which operates at arm’s length from the Ministry of Health. The Board convenes hearings and makes decisions under six pieces of legislation, but most hearings relate to the Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) and the Mental Health…

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Dementia, Health Law and Discharge Planning Challenges

A clinical dilemma: a patient was diagnosed with dementia in the mild-to-moderate stage requested to be discharged home from hospital to live alone despite the opinion of the attorney for personal care and property that the patient is unsafe to do so. The clinical opinion was also that the patient…

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The Importance of Fiduciary Duties

The Oxford Dictionary defines a fiduciary as a person in a position of trust, especially when it involves controlling money or property belonging to others. The law places particular emphasis on the trust relationship between a trustee and a third-party beneficiary. Among other duties, a fiduciary is required to: (1)…

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No Costs For You!

The recent case of Donovan v. MacKenzie, 2021 ONSC 1865 (CanLII) demonstrates the wide and sometimes unpredictable nature of a judge’s discretion when it comes to costs. In this guardianship dispute, the applicant sister (“Jacqueline”) and the respondent brother (“Kieran”) were embroiled in litigation relating to their father, John Kenneth…

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Suggestions to Reduce the Potential for Elder Financial Abuse

I suggest that improved screening for vulnerability to abuse is clearly needed for seniors appointing family members as attorneys for property.

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If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! What happens if you don’t have a Power of Attorney?

This Blog was written by: Taylor Sergeant, Scotiatrust  In my job at as a Trust Officer, I see the importance of incapacity and estate planning daily. I understand and appreciate the value of having the difficult discussions needed to plan for a time in which you may no longer be…

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Court of Appeal for Ontario Dismisses Moot Guardianship Appeal

In Hernandez v. Hernandez, 2021 ONSC 106, the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered the issue of whether litigation involving the personal care of a person is rendered moot after that person dies. In 2017, Cheri Hernandez commenced an application seeking an order terminating the authority of her brother, Norman…

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