A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision, though not an estate case specifically, is an important read for all litigators and parties who settle their disputes outside of the courtroom. In the case of Biancaniello v. DMCT LLP, 2017 ONCA 386 (CanLII), the parties signed a mutual release to…
Month: May 2017
Total 22 Posts
The Canada Revenue Agency was asked to speak to the implications of a gift return and their response included some commentary on the impact on the donor. The situation the CRA was asked to consider involved an individual taxpayer who, in 1981, gave a whole life insurance policy to a…
I had the pleasure of recently attending the B’nai Brith Canada Estates and Trusts Group annual seminar, titled Power of Attorney Disputes. It was a wonderful opportunity to watch some of Ontario’s finest estate lawyers play different roles (feuding siblings and mediator) as well as hear their professional perspective on…
In a nutshell, the duty of Attorneys for Personal Care under the SDA is to act as a substitute decision-maker (SDM) for proposed healthcare interventions if the person is incapable of making that decision, and in doing so, to make decisions in the person’s best interests and in keeping with prior…
This Blog was written by: Natalie Rouse Most of us are familiar with the 1998 decision of Granovsky Estate v Ontario. The case has been the leading authority to permit planning with multiple Wills in Ontario. The use of multiple Wills is now an integral part of the estate planning…
The Law Commission of Ontario’s (LCO) Improving the Last Stages of Life project released two final research papers ahead of publishing its consultation paper. The LCO’s project examines how Ontario laws are shaping the quality of life of dying people and how end of life care can be improved in…
Pursuant to a certain provision of the Income Tax Act (“ITA”), if in the transfer of depreciable property between related parties, the actual cost to the transferee would otherwise exceed the capital cost (for tax purposes) to the transferor, the capital cost to the transferee is limited to the sum…
Separation and Divorce: Implications[1] In Ontario, there are significant implications when a couple (both common-law and married) separates and when a couple divorces. As more and more couples live in common-law relationships as well as the rate of divorce in this day and age, it is important to consider the…
Regular readers of the All About Estates blog may recall that each spring I write on legacy and how we honour the dead. This usually involves a trip to a cemetery. My cemetery visit this year was thwarted by a seagull attack – see my Hitchcockian video – so instead…
At law, a child under the age of 18 is considered a party under disability (i.e. a “minor”). As a result, a minor is treated somewhat differently by the courts. For example, a minor must be represented by a court appointed litigation guardian in civil court proceedings. In addition, limitation…