Estate Law
Estate Law
Estate planning is something that everyone should do; it provides you with peace of mind, decreases disputes among your family and friends, minimizes taxes payable by your estate, and helps you ensure that your loved ones are provided for. Estate planning becomes even more important if one of your loved ones has a disability. How…
Stepping into the role of an executor often comes with many uncertainties. Navigating grief alongside estate administration can be a lot for one person to handle. Whether it is figuring out how to apply for probate or managing beneficiaries’ expectations, executors can face several challenges throughout an estate’s administration. In most cases, executors do not…
With Ontario’s Make-a-Will Month coming up in November, there isn’t a better time to create or revise your will. However, it’s important to understand the formal requirements for creating a will before you set your pen to paper. Ontario legislation outlines strict requirements for wills, including who can make them, the form of wills, and…
In Part 1 of our passing of accounts blog series, we outlined the basics, including the executor’s duty to account, the process of passing of accounts, and triggering events. This week’s blog will detail what happens when a passing of accounts is contested by another party as this often results in a detailed and lengthy…
Executors and trustees are obligated to identify beneficiaries and account for any distributions of an estate or trust’s assets. However, complications arise when property or trust proceeds are payable to a beneficiary going through bankruptcy. This spring, the Ontario Court of Appeal provided guidance to executors and trustees facing this complex intersection of estate/trust and…
Last week we talked about what happens if you pass away without a will. In this week’s blog, we talk about what your options are for estate administration with a will in place. Estate administration refers to how your estate will be settled and covers everything from who will be your executor, to the process…
In an effort to simplify the province’s estate law, the Ontario government filed a regulation on October 15, 2021, amending Rule 194 under the Courts of Justice Act (Rules of Civil Procedure). The regulation makes significant changes to the probate application process and aligns it with other estate law changes to take effect next year….
In a recent Ontario court case, an estate trustee sought to examine the other party’s lawyer on potentially privileged information in his defence to an action brought against him by the testator’s son. Mother and Son Were Estranged at Time of Her Death The testator died in May 2015. She had one surviving child, a…
When people purchase life insurance, they usually do so with the goal of feeling secure in knowing that their loved ones will be protected financially in the event they pass away. It’s important to remember that when filling out insurance forms or contracts, any misrepresenting information when applying for insurance can lead to a loss…
Over the last year-and-a-half, Canadians have experienced significant changes in both their day-to-day lives as well as more significant aspects of their lives, such as health and employment. The legal profession has also had to adapt to COVID-19 and coming out of the most serious phase of the pandemic, some of the once temporary changes…