Just under six years ago, I bought a Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) Venusaur Ex Red and Blue Collection Box. I was feeling stressed about studying for my law school exams and, being a massive Pokémon fan, I went for a walk to my local hobby store and decided to…
Choosing who to name as the executor of your estate is an important decision to make when preparing your will (and a topic on which other All About Estates blogs have been written). But what happens if something happens to your executor, and they are unable or unwilling to act?…
Overview The Ontario government has enabled municipalities to enact a tax on vacant residential units in their regions (Granted under Part IX.1 of the Municipal Act).[1] Each municipality has to pass a By-Law stating the tax rate and conditions of vacancy that, if met, make a property subject to…
Because the doctrine of suspicious circumstances was developed in respect of probate and wills, it cannot easily be exported into other areas of law, including contract law.
Per stirpes. It is a term that is often used in estate planning and will drafting yet is also one which frequently causes problems. Perhaps because the meaning is not always understood, even by estates practitioners, and therefore the term is misused. Or it could be because the term can…
Today’s blog is co-written by Jennifer Campbell and Sandra Arsenault, Senior Law Clerks in the Private Client Services Group at Fasken. At the beginning of November, we were fortunate enough to attend the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO) annual conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This conference brings together law clerks…
Today’s blog is written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. Powers of attorney can be an area of confusion for those clients looking to create or update their estate plans. Clients can be uncertain as to what kinds of duties and responsibilities someone appointed under a power…
Today’s blog was written by Jessica Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. Chadwick Boseman’s death came as a surprise to the world when he passed away in August 2020, at age 43 from colon cancer. Chadwick was best known for his role in Black Panther – the first superhero movie…
This blog has been co-written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP and Kassandra Douglas, Durham College Law Clerk Co-op Student at Fasken LLP At 18 years of age, you are allowed to vote in Canada, and chances are, you have had exposure to politics growing up. You likely…
A person’s house is often their most valuable assets – both monetarily and emotionally. As a result, testators tend to put a lot of thought into who, and how, they wish to leave their house. However, as is always the case, best laid plans often go awry. One example of this, explored in the 2022 Court of Appeal of Ontario decision Barsoski Estate v Wesley, is when it is unclear whether the will gifts someone with a life interest in the house or a licence to use the property.
