Wills, Trusts & Estates
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July 24, 2024
Collaborative law and its role in estate disputes
Collaborative law, commonly used in family law, is an innovative approach to dispute resolution — introduced to the Canadian legal landscape in 1998 — where the lawyers and parties involved in a dispute agree in advance to resolve their conflict using co-operative strategies that are out of court rather than adversarial techniques and litigation.
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July 23, 2024
Canadian securities regulators stepped up enforcement in 2023-24, driven in part by crypto schemes
Canadian securities regulators commenced 83 enforcement proceedings between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, with 27 cases of selling securities illegally making it the most common offence, according to the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) annual year-in-review report.
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July 17, 2024
B.C. court dismisses defamation action against charity researcher under anti-SLAPP law
The B.C. Supreme Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against a writer who published letters alleging that a philanthropic gift was part of a massive tax fraud scam, finding that public interest weighed in favour of protecting the writer’s expression.
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July 17, 2024
B.C. Court of Appeal issues groundbreaking ruling on reverse vesting orders in receiverships
The Court of Appeal for British Columbia recently issued a landmark decision that is set to reshape insolvency proceedings.
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July 16, 2024
Do you have a death folder?
When it comes to estate planning, choosing an executor is important. However, it’s not just about the person; it’s about ensuring they have the necessary tools to carry out your wishes. You need to identify the information, documents and contact names your executor will need to ensure the future of your estate and the interests of your beneficiaries are well taken care of. Creating a file folder, digital or otherwise, to hold the information you gather is a great place to start.
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July 11, 2024
Unsolved murder: Perfect crime against perfect trustee
In the evening hours of April 1, 1991, on what otherwise may have been a relatively unassuming day in Düsseldorf, Germany, Detlev Karsten Rohwedder was murdered at his home in cold blood. The case remains unsolved and arguably ranks as Germany’s own version of the JFK assassination — a prominent member of the government establishment gone far too soon with seemingly no one to hold accountable.
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July 10, 2024
Review launched into CRA’s ‘last minute’ change of 2023 bare trust filing requirements
The taxpayers’ ombudsperson, François Boileau, has launched a systemic examination into whether the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) “respected taxpayers’ rights in its administration of bare trust filing requirements for the 2023 tax year.”
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July 09, 2024
Muslim charity’s Charter case against CRA stalls again in wake of Ontario Court of Appeal ruling
A lawsuit launched by the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) against the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) claiming that an extensive CRA audit violated the religious nonprofit’s Charter rights will remain on hold following a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal.
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July 09, 2024
The problems of dying intestate with minor children
A person who dies “intestate” is one who dies without leaving a valid will. A valid will provides for who should administer the estate, who should benefit from the estate and the terms on which the beneficiaries inherit. If you die without a will in place, your estate will be governed by intestacy laws, which may not reflect your wishes.
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July 08, 2024
Manitoba regulator running mental wellness challenge for lawyers
The new president of Manitoba’s law society is hoping an ongoing “wellness challenge” for lawyers will put them on the path to minding their mental health while at work. The Law Society of Manitoba’s (LSM) Wellness Challenge 2024, the first of its kind by the regulator, is a voluntary project where participants engage in various wellness activities over an eight-week period. The activities, grouped into two-week slots, began June 17 and will run through to Aug. 9.