October 2014

Today’s blog is written by William Lim, a law student at Western University and research assistant to Professor Adam Parachin, associate professor of law at Western University. As discussed in a recent blog by Professor Adam Parachin, the Court in McCorkill v. Streed 2014 NBQB 148 took the unusual step of striking an unconditional bequest to the National Alliance, a white supremacist organization, on the basis of public policy. The….

I was at a conference for professional valuators and appraisers from around North America. There was a session devoted to the do’s and don’ts when dealing with the tax authorities on disputes with valuations, presented by two gentlemen with considerable experience with tax disputes on both sides of the border. I was interested in hearing that while estate and gift tax returns have a high audit focus in the USA….

The recent case of Morton v. Christian is a reminder to Quebec residents – if you execute a notarial Will, you need to appreciate the manner in which the notarial Will can be revoked. Notarial Wills stem from the Quebec Civil Code. They are executed before a notary, who then registers the original with the provincial registry and stores the original as an officer of the court. The benefit of….

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) has undertaken a project to examine and review Ontario’s laws related to legal capacity, decision –making and guardianship. Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending one of their focus groups. Spokespersons from various groups were there representing those with autism, mental health issues and the hearing impaired, to name a few. While the disability groups may have different issues, there was more….

A recent Ipsos-Reid report found older Canadians lack confidence in the health-care system’s ability to provide for seniors in the future. With the aging population and strains on the various government systems and agencies for seniors, elder care planning is becoming more crucial. The shift in the demographics of our society into an aged population will put additional strain on our health care system and our caregivers. Most individuals as….