Evaluation of decision-making capacity is inherent to the practice of law and medicine and is not the exclusive responsibility or expertise of either. Lawyers may need to assess (among other things) capacity to instruct counsel; to provide evidence; to stand trial; to appoint or revoke Powers of Attorney; to make…
COVID-19 has hit the charitable sector hard, and arts organizations face particular challenges. A recent article in The Globe and Mail about the Banff Centre described closed facilities, lost fundraising, cancelled programs, layoffs, deficits, resignations, and protests. The article also mentioned a request to endowment donors for “permission” to use…
Successfully summoning counsel of record for examination is typically a difficult task, and a motion to quash will often be brought after a summons is served on counsel for one of the parties. Case law in is clear that, generally, calling a lawyer to give evidence against their client should…
A recent decision by Master Kaufman examines whether a person with a personal interest in the legal proceedings can act as a litigation guardian for a party under a disability. In Shady Saleh v. Mohammed Salehe, the plaintiff, Shady, was his mother’s power of attorney for property. He sought to…
In the recent decision of Volk v. Volk, 2020 ONCA 297, the Court of Appeal for Ontario declined the moving parties’ motion for a stay pending appeal of an Order granting the sale of real property alleged to have been purchased by attorneys for property with the funds of the…
While the courts will defer to the wishes of the incapable person regarding their attorney/guardian of personal care, they will also look at the past actions of the applicants.
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…
A few weeks ago, I came across a media article about elder financial abuse involving the use of a power of attorney. In my view, this issue has even greater relevance today in light of the current COVID-19 lockdown, and the resulting physical isolation of our vulnerable seniors. The Story…
Emerson and Marie Lewis appointed two of their six adult children, Donald and Douglas Lewis, as their attorneys for property. Their remaining four children (the “non-attorney siblings”) commenced an application pursuant to ss. 42(1) and (4) of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c.30 (the “SDA”) for leave to…
Financial elder abuse is defined by the World Health Organisation as the illegal or improper exploitation or use of funds or resources of the older person.[i] The misuse of a senior’s funds and assets involves the use of the senior’s funds without that senior’s knowledge and/or full consent, or, in…
