The relationship between suicide and mental disorder has been well explored.  The recent death of Robin Williams has brought this issue into the public eye. Most studies (especially in later life) find that the majority of suicides are associated with clinically significant psychiatric illness, particularly mood disorders such as Depression.  Moreover, suicide notes are left by about 25% of people who die from suicide.  How many of those notes contain….

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….