All About Estates

Category: Dependant Support

Total 33 Posts

Spousal Election – The Right of the Survivor

In Ontario, the Family Law Act (“FLA”) regulates the division of property and the availability of spousal support on separation or death.

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What Makes a Marriage?

Each province in Canada establishes its own rules regarding the distribution of property where a person dies without a will. In Ontario, intestate succession is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”). Inheritance on intestacy is limited to married spouses and blood relations. If a…

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Demonstrating Financial Need in a Dependant Support Claim

Today’s blog was written by Tyler Lin, student-at-law with de VRIES LITIGATION LLP When a person passes away, what happens to those who were depending on them? In Ontario, the requirement to provide for your dependants does not end on death. Where the deceased has failed to leave adequate support…

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Deleon v DeRanney and the Definition of “child” Under the SLRA

In Deleon v. DeRanney, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded some dependant support to a non-biological child who was part of the deceased’s unconventional family. As blog readers may be aware, the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) does not require that a child be the biological offspring of the…

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Home Buyer’s Plan and Disabled Family Member

In a recent blog, I wrote about the availability of Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) to an individual after the death of her spouse who purchased the matrimonial home. In a recent Technical Interpretation (2019-0819671E5, D. Odubella), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked by a taxpayer to review the availability…

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Accommodating Beneficiaries of a Will With Differing Gender Identities

Accommodating Beneficiaries With Differing Gender Identities Our society is becoming increasingly attuned to accommodating the needs of people who have various gender identities, whether such people are transgender, queer, or do not identify as one specific gender. For example, Ontario announced a few years ago that its residents can use…

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Interim Support and the “Bare Minimum”

Should a widow have to deplete her meager savings and income before being entitled to interim dependant support from her late husband’s estate? In Anderson v. Anderson, 2019 ONSC 5627 (CanLII), the court’s answer was unsurprisingly “no”. The deceased had been married to his second wife for almost 20 years….

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Separation Agreements, Support Obligations, and Summary Judgment

Separation agreements commonly include a requirement that one of the spouses maintains a life insurance policy in favour of the other in order to “secure” support payments (either child support or spousal support). It is equally as common to find out, on the death of the supposedly insured spouse, that…

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Testamentary Freedom – A Fundamental Right?

Whether testamentary autonomy is a constitutionally protected right has not been considered by the courts … until now.

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Support, Shoes and Social Media

How much interim dependant support is too much? When can interim legal fees be ordered? And can young people be stopped from posting on Instagram? Justice Pattillo had to consider these question in Zavet v. Herzog, 2018 ONSC 3398. The deceased, a wealthy real estate developer behind many of Toronto’s…

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