Rebecca Studin

In order for a Will to be valid, the testator must sign in the document in the presence of two witnesses. During the COVID lockdown, numerous jurisdictions, including Ontario, enacted emergency legislation permitting the virtual or video commissioning of Wills. These measures enabled the testator’s signature on the Will to be witnesses by people who were not physically present in the room with the testator. While virtual Will commissioning in….

In Estate of Harold Franklin Campbell (Re), 2023 ONSC 4315, the Court considered whether the new, curative provision under s.21.1(1) of the Succession Law Reform Act  (“SLRA”) was available to revive a Will revoked by a subsequent marriage. Facts:  Harold Franklin Campbell died on June 11, 2020. He was survived by his two children of his first marriage, Christopher and Lisa, and his second wife, Carol. Following the death of his….

In the Estate of Nordby, 2023 ONSC 821, an executor was committed to prison for contempt of court for breaching a court order to pass accounts. Facts:  Jennifer Lynn Nordby died on January 23, 2013. Her Will appointed her father, Harold Nordby, as estate trustee and named her two children, one of whom was a minor, as beneficiaries. Mr. Norby obtained probate on October 30, 2013. The value of the….

In J.N. v. C.G., 2023 ONCA 77, the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered whether information from the internet was admissible in Court and reliable as expert evidence. Facts:  The appellant father and respondent mother were married for almost seven years before separating. They had three children. The oldest child lived with the father while the younger two, ages 10 and 12, lived with the mother. The only issue the parties….