This blog has been written by Darren Lund a partner at Fasken LLP. Marriage contracts and cohabitation agreements are an increasingly important aspect of estate planning and wealth preservation. They can be used for a number of reasons and in a variety of contexts. Think of the parents wishing to…
Category: Spouse
Total 61 Posts
Today’s Blog Post was written by Gabrielle Arbic-Lloyd, Student-at-Law at Fasken LLP In February, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered one spouse to pay the other more than one million dollars in costs in addition to spousal and child support. So what motivated the Court to order this spouse to…
While the right of survivorship is often thought of as the defining characteristic of joint tenancy, joint tenancy is also defined by “four unities.” Justice Perell succinctly defined the “four unities” in Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company v Muir, 2011 ONSC 2273: A joint tenancy is distinguished by what are…
As we turn the corner from winter to spring, we also enter into another important time of year: wedding season. With the start of this season, estate planners should remind themselves, and their clients, of a few of the critical intersections between family law and estate law that specifically impact…
These days, it is quite common to find intergenerational wealth transfer to consist of property held in a discretionary family trust whose beneficiaries may or may not have been in marital relationships at the time of the time the trusts were created. A siginifcant number of legal and financials issues…
I have found it uncommon for a family member or beneficiary to exert undue influence to pressure a patient to pursue MAiD. What worries me is the vulnerability of patients to undue influence from physicians who may embrace therapeutic nihilism and bias patients unduly towards MAiD. I suggest that, for capacity to consent to MAiD, the test of “ability to appreciate” should be expanded to require an appreciation of the views and wishes of supportive family members and friends.
When I explain to people whom I’m meeting for the first time that I’m a lawyer and that among my areas of practice I draft domestic contracts, I’m often met with a response to the effect of “You mean, like, a pre-nup?” I can confirm that a “pre-nup” is, in…
As the date for writing this blog was approaching, I struggled to find an interesting topic to write about. I like to write about what I know or practical tips so I had to go back to the drawing board when I was drawing a blank. Today’s blog is a…
Today’s blog was written by Tyler Lin, student-at-law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP Widespread embrace of social media has brought text messages, e-mails, and postings to the forefront of evidence in criminal, civil and family law disputes. These sources are supposed to allow judges to glean insight into the life…
Use of spousal trust or common-law partner trusts Setting up a spousal or common-law partner trust is a very important decision that generally results from non-tax reasons. One of the common reasons for setting up this type of trust is to protect the surviving spouse from influencers who might try…