A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court serves as a reminder that a moral obligation does not necessarily translate into a legal one. In McNeill v. Phillips, 2025 ONSC 5779, the Court struck a claim that sought to impose a duty of care where none existed in law. The…
The multi-faceted Rule 7 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure often comes into play in estate litigation. Generally, in estates cases, the Rule may be engaged when there is a settlement impacting a person under disability (i.e. a minor, an absentee within the meaning of the Absentees Act, or…
The recent decision in Bayliss v. Burnham, 2025 ONSC 5376 provides insight into how estate issues involving the Indian Act (the “Act”) are resolved. Kenneth Ryan Hill (“Kenneth” or the “Estate”) passed away from natural causes on January 18, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Kenneth was a status Indian registered under…
Solicitor-client privilege is a fundamental legal principle that protects communications between lawyers and their clients. This principle allows clients to speak freely in front of their lawyers without fear of their conversations being disclosed to anyone else. In the estates world, the question can sometimes become, what happens to solicitor-client…
There is a saying among charitable gift planners: “beware of donors of in-kind property with valuations in hand.” In other words, some gifts may be too good to be true. This folk wisdom contains a serious point. Donors, executors and charities often struggle with the valuation of in-kind donation. Who…
In the recent decision of Buffa v. Giacomelli, 2025 ONSC 4024 (CanLII), the court considered whether withdrawals from joint bank accounts are valid inter vivos gifts. The mother had two children: a son (the applicant), and a daughter (the respondent). The respondent made the withdrawals from joint accounts with her…
*Today’s blog post was written by Iryna Huk, Articling Student at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP The recent Court of Appeal decision in Di Nardo v. Nagy, 2025 ONCA 523 highlights the complexities of contested estate administration and the serious consequences trustees may face when they ignore court orders. Background of the…
Written by Kelsey Buchmayer, associate with the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP There is often an assumption that being in a common law relationship is no different than being married – marriage is just a formality, right? And in many aspects of life, perhaps this is true, but…
In Yurkiw Estate (Re), 2025 BCSC 1026 (CanLII), the Supreme Court of British Columbia clarified the scope of an estate trustee’s file that must be disclosed to beneficiaries. On November 21, 2024, the court ordered Heritage Trust, the estate trustee of the estate of David Thomas George Yurkiw, to produce its…
In my capacity evaluation work, my clients (who are mostly lawyers) occasionally suggest that if I have already assessed that a decision maker has testamentary capacity, then I need not evaluate whether the decision-maker has capacity to appoint a power of attorney (POA) for property. The reasoning is that because…