In Ontario, a power of attorney for personal care is defined in the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA) and allows the appointed attorney to act as the substitute decision maker (SDM) for an incapable person. The appointed attorney is given the authority to make decisions such as: medical treatments, admission to…
June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. I continue to be saddened by the many different ways that elders can be taken advantage of. Financial abuse is one of the types identified, included with physical and emotional abuse as well as with neglect. There are some telltale signs that…
When does the limitation period start running regarding an incapable person who does not have a formal litigation guardian? Despite the language of the Limitations Act, 2002, a court found in Rekowski v. Renfrew (County), 2019 ONSC 2852 that the answer to this question is not clear. In 2009, Kenneth was…
Passings of accounts can often be bitter and vicious. However, the case of Daniel Estate (Re), 2019 ONSC 2790 was a welcome “good news” alternative to the standard slugfest. Linda and Ted cared for their elderly neighbours Isabel and Wayne for over two decades. The court noted that their relationship…
A “passing of accounts” refers to the process of formally preparing and presenting accounts to the beneficiaries and the court. The accounts are either approved (i.e., “passed”) in the form presented, amended by court order and passed in revised form, or not passed because the court is not satisfied with…
Experts giving evidence in an Ontario court are obliged to sign an acknowledgement that they are independent, with their obligation being to the court and not to the party who retained them. Nonetheless, scepticism regarding objectiveness and discrepancies between expert opinions remains, as demonstrated in the reasons of Justice Mesbur…
Thank you Sally Lee for your blog last week titled ‘Pre-arranging for Personal Care’. My colleague has discussed such an important topic and it is one that I feel strongly about. I felt this blog spoke to me directly as a ‘care service provider’ and as a resource to women…
This blog was written by Sally Lee, LLB – Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management Recently, I met a prospective client (let’s call her Jane) who told me she did not have anyone to appoint as her attorney for personal care. It appeared that this issue was the…
Styres v. Martin 2018 ONCA 956 is a case of a gift that unfolded a saga (not over yet and far from it) of diminished capacity, alleged breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, undue influence to name a few. Mr. Styres lived in a house he built…
This blog was written by Andrew Ashenhurst, TEP – Associate Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management A close friend of mine is actively involved in the Aboriginal space from both an economic and social development perspective. In his work he has often reached out to me with…
