May 2018

Intrinsic v. Extrinsic Giving

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There is a fundraising truism that says you don’t get money unless you ask for it. But as estate planning professional know that’s not always true. A difference between lifetime gifts made directly to charity and estate donations is motivation. Often lifetime gifts are extrinsically motivated; estate donations are more likely to be intrinsically motivated. In other words, most everyday gifts are the result of an external solicitation; estate donations….

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Charitable Giving, Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and Undue Influence

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In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the ban on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was unconstitutional (for a summary of the decision, click here). However, MAiD is not available to all persons; to qualify, a person requesting MAiD must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition including an illness, disease or disability. In its seminal decision, Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5, the Supreme Court of….

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Capacity Law, Disability, Elder Care, Elder Law, Geriatric Care Management, In the News, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence

Trust and (Mis)Communication in Families

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There is a recurrent theme that I continue to see in my elder care work with families. It involves a breakdown in communication that has likely started sometime ago. As a result of this miscommunication, the trusting relationship that I would like to be believe originally existed there, has been damaged. This lack of trust seems to revolve around several parties and may include distrust from parent to child and/or….

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Family Conflict, Power of Attorney, Undue influence

Allsorts of Potential Problems with Joint Bank Accounts

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This blog was written by Ronald Neal, student-at-law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP. What happens to the money in a joint bank account when one of the joint account owners passes away? Do the funds pass to the surviving joint owner outside of the estate, or do the funds form part of the deceased joint owner’s estate? The Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered these questions in its recent decision….

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Estate Planning, Wills

The Cost of Winning, Sort of….

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In my practice, I have been engaged on valuation matters which, on occasion despite the efforts of all those involved, go to trial to have a trial judge settle for the parties. Most trials are expensive and the actual outcome is not always certain, no matter how strong one side of the matter or case might be. It has been my experience that even if one happens to be on….

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Costs, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Joint Tenancy, Property, Uncategorized, Undue influence, Wills

M.R.R. v. J.M.: Judicial Consideration of Ontario’s New Parentage Rules

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The new rules for determining parentage in Ontario, which were enacted by the All Families Are Equal Act (“AFAEA”), came into force on January 1, 2017. The new rules are set out in the new Part I of the Children’s Law Reform Act (“CLRA”), which replaced the former Parts I and II of the CLRA. M.R.R. v. J.M., 2017 ONSC 2655, is one of the first reported decisions to apply….

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