Wills Articles | All About Estates

Too much “Legalese” – Better Pay Attention!

Scotiatrust • July 11, 2019 • 0 Comments

This Blog was written by: Emily Racine While reviewing wills with clients, the focus is often on the dispositive provisions of the will; in other words, clients tend to focus on the first five pages of the will and leave the rest to the lawyers. For the most part, this is for good reason. Wills often contain 10 or more pages of boiler plate language that can put….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Uncategorized, Wills

Probate and the Humans Rights Tribunal of Ontario

Joanna Lindenberg • July 10, 2019 • 0 Comments

On June 29, 2019, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “HRTO”) released an interim decision which impacts upon estate trustees and which calls for some friendly scrutiny from estate solicitors and litigators. My colleague, Jacob Kaufman, blogged about a previous and related HRTO 2017 case which required that a certificate of appointment of estate trustee (probate) be obtained – both where there is and is not a will – in order….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Wills

In Whose Best Interests? Estate Planning for Artists

Diane Vieira • July 3, 2019 • 0 Comments

A recent case involving the estate of Canadian artist and figure skating legend, Toller Cranston (“Toller”), highlights the importance of estate planning for artists. Administering posthumous intellectual property can be complex and without guidance from the testator, disputes will often arise between trustees and the estate’s beneficiaries due to competing interests. Toller died in 2015 while living in Mexico. He left no will. Toller was a prolific artist and his….

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Estate Planning, Executors, Wills

Digital Will Vault

Joanna Lindenberg • June 26, 2019 • 1 Comment

NoticeConnect, which is a one stop shop for estates to advertise for creditors and provide solutions for those seeking to collect from estates has recently added a new element – an online Canada Will Registry. The Canada Will Registry went live in early June 2019. On the “Digital Will Vault”, as its termed on NoticeConnect’s website, individuals can register one or multiple wills at once and receive an alert when….

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Wills

“Pour Over” Clauses Revisited

Brittany Sud • June 14, 2019 • 0 Comments

You may recall I wrote a blog post last year on the Supreme Court of British Columbia decision, Quinn Estate, 2018 BCSC 365, which rendered the “pour over” clause in the late Pat Quinn’s (“Pat”) Will invalid. The basis for this decision was twofold:….

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Wills

Testamentary Freedom – A Fundamental Right?

Gillian Fournie • June 12, 2019 • 1 Comment

Whether testamentary autonomy is a constitutionally protected right has not been considered by the courts … until now…..

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Dependant Support, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Succession Planning, Wills