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When Philanthropy Offends

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Rueben Wells Leonard was an early Canadian tycoon straight out of central casting. He was a pioneering philanthropist whose views created controversy in life and after death.  His story is a key part of Canadian philanthropic history, and it contains some relevant lessons for today. The Man Born in 1861 and trained as a civil engineer, Rueben Wells Leonard struck it rich in 1904 after finding a massive silver deposit….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

When will the Court Pass Over an Estate Trustee?

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In the recent case of Sassano v. Iozzo, 2024 ONSC 1517, the Court reviewed the applicable legal principles regarding passing over an estate trustee, and found that in the circumstances of the case, it was appropriate to pass over one of the named co-estate trustees. In this case, the applicant sought, among other relief, the removal of the respondent, her sister, as an estate trustee of their mother’s estate. Their….

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Is This a Bare Trust?

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Andrew Coates, Associate, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Today was supposed to be the due date for untold numbers of T3 returns and Schedule 15s for trusts known as “bare” trusts in existence on December 30, 2023. Not only was it going to be the first year that the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) required bare trusts to report their existence through the filing of a T3 return, but also the….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Joint Tenancy, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

Emotional Support Dogs

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I once lost a seat in business class to an alleged Emotional Support Animal (“ESA”). The dog’s owners arrived for a flight in which they were apparently ready to put their alleged ESA, Woofie Goldberg[i], into her carrier and stow her under the seat in front of their own seats. Problems arose when it turned out that the couple had seats immediately behind the bulk head (therefore no seats in….

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Uncategorized

Chat, j’ai pété (and left a stink)

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Since the widespread launch of cheap, accessible, generative AI platforms like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Google Bard, Cohere Coral, etc. we’ve all read the news articles and blog posts written using AI to show off the possibilities these new tools present. In the legal industry, there’s buzz around the potential applications of AI when it comes to drafting, research, and streamlining simple tasks. However, one BC lawyer has demonstrated….

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The End of Zoom Wills?

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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….

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