Gowling WLG LLP

Total 51 Posts

 Website

Spousal Trusts Without the Trust Issues: Picking the Right Trustee – A Primer and Reminder

• • 0 Comments

Brianna Fable-Watson, Articling Student, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP When planning your estate, creating a spousal trust is an effective way to ensure that your spouse is financially supported while also protecting the inheritance for your children or other beneficiaries. In a typical spousal trust, your surviving spouse receives the income produced from your assets during their lifetime, while the capital is (potentially) preserved for the next generation after they pass…..

Spousal Trusts Without the Trust Issues: Picking the Right Trustee – A Primer and Reminder Continue Reading »

Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, Spouse, Trustee, Trustee Disputes

In What Circumstances Can an Attorney for Personal Care Restrict Visitors from Visiting an Incapacitated Person in a Long-Term Care Home?

• • 0 Comments
Adult daughter and her mother drinking tea and chatting

Anna Chen, Associate, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP This was the question addressed in the recent decision Orr v Orr, 2025 ONSC 4986. In Orr, 82-year-old William Orr (“Bill”) was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease and moved into a secure ward at McCormick Home, an accredited long-term care home in London, Ontario.  His capacity to manage personal care was put into dispute in the application.  The applicant was Bill’s wife Gwen….

In What Circumstances Can an Attorney for Personal Care Restrict Visitors from Visiting an Incapacitated Person in a Long-Term Care Home? Continue Reading »

Caregiving, Elder Care, Elder Law, Geriatric Care Management, Healthcare, Power of Attorney

Marriage vs Common Law – how does it differ at death?

• • 0 Comments

Written by Kelsey Buchmayer, associate with the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP There is often an assumption that being in a common law relationship is no different than being married – marriage is just a formality, right? And in many aspects of life, perhaps this is true, but at death, this is not the case. The tradition of marriage still affords statutorily protected benefits in Ontario when it….

Marriage vs Common Law – how does it differ at death? Continue Reading »

Uncategorized

Limitation Periods and Testamentary Disputes: Lessons from Recent Ontario Case Law

• • 0 Comments

Article Written by: Ashley Thornton, Articling Student at Gowling WLG Recent decisions from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal have shed light on when limitation periods begin to run in the context of different types of estate litigation. From professional negligence by estate lawyers, to the discoverability of testamentary documents, and the appropriate limitation periods for unjust enrichment claims against an estate, these rulings….

Limitation Periods and Testamentary Disputes: Lessons from Recent Ontario Case Law Continue Reading »

Appeals, Estate Litigation

Net Family Property Exclusion Clause in Wills

• • 0 Comments

Today’s blog was written by Douglas Buchmayer, partner with the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, together with the assistance of our summer law student Stephanie Katajamaki. It would be rare to find an Ontario Will drafted by a lawyer that does not contain a Family Law Act, Net Family Property clause. They are ubiquitous. However, few clients fully appreciate the limited purpose or utility (and necessity) behind these….

Net Family Property Exclusion Clause in Wills Continue Reading »

Estate Planning, Family Conflict

Navigating Mental Capacity and Guardianship in Ontario’s Estates Law: Lessons from Francois v. Francois, 2025 ONSC 589

• • 1 Comment

By: Maddi Thomas, associate and Sukhman Sangha, articling student Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP   Mental capacity continues to be a growing area of focus in estates law. Capacity, defined under the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 (“SDA”) as the ability to understand and appreciate decision consequences, is assessed through medical and legal evaluations. Declining capacity heightens vulnerability to financial abuse, such as unauthorized transactions or neglect by fiduciaries like guardians unaware….

Navigating Mental Capacity and Guardianship in Ontario’s Estates Law: Lessons from Francois v. Francois, 2025 ONSC 589 Continue Reading »

Capacity Law, Elder Care, Elder Law, Elder Management
Scroll to Top