Most adults are familiar with the concept of “rent”: it’s the money you owe every month after signing a lease with a landlord. Related but distinct from “rent” is “occupation rent” – rent’s frequently sought, but little understood, younger cousin who can still pack a punch. Occupation rent fills the…
The gratuitous transfer of property from a parent to an adult, capable child may result in a resulting trust.
Much has been written in this blog space and many others on this topic. Several times a year (in some years more often than others), we are asked in our practice about to advise on succession or estate planning issues for the family cottage. I was recently alerted to a…
Calmusky v. Calmusky, 2020 ONSC 1506, is a 2020 decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that is ruffling some feathers among banks, financial advisors and estate planning lawyers in Ontario. In this case, the court applied the principles surrounding the presumption of resulting trust, established by the Supreme Court…
A bare trust, also referred to as a naked trust, exists where a person, the trustee, is merely vested with the legal title to property and has no other duty to perform or responsibilities to carry out as trustee, in relation to the property vested in the trust. The sole…
Counsel faced with responding to frivolous objections to an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee may wish to consider rule 25.11 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 25.11 allows the court to strike out (all or part of) a pleading, without leave to amend, on the…
Leaving aside other means of severance, including that which occurs on bankruptcy or by judicial sale, there are three main ways to sever a joint tenancy: Unilaterally acting on one’s own share, such as selling or encumbering it; A mutual agreement between the co-owners to sever the joint tenancy; and…
During her marriage, a spouse inhabited a home wholly owned by her husband. He passed away and the house became an asset of the estate. Subsequent to her husband’s passing, the spouse purchased a new property. She had not re-married or entered into any common law partnership. Is the spouse…
It is well known that Ontario testators enjoy the freedom to distribute their estates as they wish (provided their statutory obligations are met); however, the recent case of RBC v. Scarborough, 2019 ONSC 3369, reminds readers to be cognizant of the impact of debts and liabilities upon those who may…
Can you be a tenant and an equitable owner of a property? Absolutely! Read how you can have it all in Warraich v Choudhry et al, 2019 ONSC 2656. In March 2012, Choudhry purchased a property for $519,000.00. In April 2012, Warraich, one of Choudhry’s friends, moved into the property…
