Anna Chen, Associate, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP This was the question addressed in the recent decision Orr v Orr, 2025 ONSC 4986. In Orr, 82-year-old William Orr (“Bill”) was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease and moved into a secure ward at McCormick Home, an accredited long-term care home in London,…
We are in the midst of a longevity revolution. And we could easily live another 30 or 40 years after retiring from full-time employment. Do you have a plan for smart ageing? Have you considered what quality of life means to you? Just like cognition, mobility, and hearing, vision is…
Increasingly, families are struggling with hospital discharges, especially for elderly persons with complex care needs. The primary reason is that transition planning is not sufficiently planned for or considered. Before you agree to any discharge for a family member, you must first understand what a high-quality transition plan looks like….
While most of us prefer to avoid the hospital, there may be times when we require acute hospital care. In Canada, we have basic insured health care coverage, which covers the cost of an acute hospital stay. However, discharge home from the hospital, especially with complex care needs, can be…
Kira Domratchev, Partner, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Many of us are familiar with the concept of a Henson Trust, as it comes across our desks fairly frequently, both in the context of litigation and planning. A Henson Trust is a trust where the trustee is given an absolute and unfettered…
“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…
Recently, I returned for my fourth annual presentation to a group of older gentlemen about planning for the last decade of life. With more than fifty in the audience each year, the participants are a good cross-section of men in their 80s. They are a lively, well-informed group of retired…
Everyone knows the tragic Shakespeare tale of how Juliet awakens from her “death” to discover that her love Romeo had taken his life, believing that Juliet had really died. Juliet, in her own state of sorrow, stabs herself with a dagger and is joined forever with her love Romeo. This…
In my last blog, I described the Court’s expectation for confirming a finding of incapacity: namely, that compelling evidence is required to override the presumption of capacity. Such evidence may include corroborative information. However, the Court has warned assessors to be alive to the presence of improper motives of informants…
This blog has been written by Mohena Singh [Associate] at Fasken LLP As we near the new year and reflect on another holiday season, many of us may have used this time to spend with family and friends or catch up on some much needed rest and recovery. This time…