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Relationships Matter: Revisiting Buffa v. Giacomelli

My colleagues, Diane Vieira and Karen Watters, Partners at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP, both wrote blogs on Buffa v. Giacomelli, 2025 ONSC 4024. Diane’s blog can be found here, and Karen’s blog can be found here. This matter was recently heard in the Court of Appeal in Buffa v. Giacomelli, 2026 ONCA 566. Background Alexander Buffa (“Alexander”) and Laura Giacomelli (“Laura”) were the children of Giuliana Buffa (“Giuliana” and the….

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Court Approval of Settlements Impacting Persons Under Disability

Minors and incapable persons are protected in a variety of ways in Ontario’s court system. One form of protection comes through Rule 7.08 of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”). In particular, Rule 7.08(1) provides: “No settlement of a claim made by or against a person under disability, whether or not a proceeding has been commenced in respect of the claim, is binding on the person without the approval….

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The Substance Rule: Lang-Newlands v Newlands

This blog has been written by Darren Lund, Partner at Fasken LLP I previously blogged about the trial level decision Newlands: A New Interpretation of Estate Freezes in the Family Courts? and a subsequent motion Newlands Revisited: Moving to the Appeal in Lang-Newlands v. Newlands, a family law case that dealt extensively with equalization claims in the context of intergenerational wealth planning involving multiple estate freeze transactions. The Ontario Court of Appeal….

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Family Conflict, Separation, Succession Planning, Trusts, Uncategorized

Wills Only in Electronic Form: s. 21.1 of the SLRA Does Not Apply

The decision in Samide v. Taylor, 2026 ONSC 3589 provides clarity on the interplay of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) and the Electronic Commerce Act (“ECA”), specifically the applicability of these statutes on wills that only exist electronically. Robert Samide (“Robert”) died unexpectedly in July 2024. He was survived by his children: Jessica, Nicole and Christopher, as well as his domestic partner, Shantel Taylor (“Shantel”) and her three sons…..

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Hiring Court Experts: A Quick Guide

As is often the case in civil litigation proceedings, estate and trust litigation relies on expert evidence.  This blog will lay out the general legal framework when it comes to engaging an expert and admitting expert evidence at trial. As an overview, case law collectively establishes that: Expert evidence must be independent, necessary, and properly confined in scope. Counsel may properly interact with experts but must not compromise their independence…..

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Estate Donation Regime at 10 Years

Ten years ago, in 2016, the introduction of the Graduated Rate Estate (GRE) regime turned Canadian estate planning upside down.  The sidebar to the GRE rules were rules for “estate donations”. These Income Tax Act provisions in Section 118.1(5.1) altered the administrative and tax treatment of gifts by will, as well as direct designation gifts of life insurance, RRSP/RRIFs, and TFSAs. A decade later, how are charities and executors managing?….

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