Wills, Trusts & Estates
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December 17, 2024
Vavilov at five | Sara Blake
Five years ago, on Dec. 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, re-set the standard of review for questions of statutory interpretation. In that case, and two others decided in the same week, the court demonstrated how the new standard of review is to be applied.
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December 16, 2024
Federal fiscal update after Freeland’s shock departure features tax, legal changes of note to bar
Boosting the number of judges in Ontario’s Unified Family Court and Court of Appeal, making “bail and sentencing laws stricter,” and new civil remedies — and criminal penalties of up to $1 million for corporations — under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, were among the new measures proposed in the 2024 fall fiscal update by the minority Liberal government after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunned Ottawa by resigning from the Cabinet a few hours earlier.
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December 16, 2024
Two Montreal law firms join forces
Spiegel Sohmer and Ravinsky Ryan Lemoine have decided to merge and will operate under the new name of Spiegel Ryan as of Jan. 1, 2025.
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December 13, 2024
Estate planning using options to purchase and right of first refusal
In the realm of estate litigation, the interpretation of will clauses that include options to purchase and rights of first refusal seems to be coming up more and more frequently. Recent cases like Cambareri v. Sorrenti, 2023 ONSC 4918, and Zboya v. Hicks, 2024 ABKB 525, to name a few, indicate that there is growing interest in will drafting and estate planning that includes options to purchase estate property, or alternatively, gives beneficiaries a right of first refusal to purchase such property.
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December 11, 2024
Ontario appeal decision clarifies ‘murky area of real estate law,’ lawyer says
Ontario’s top court has outlined what happens to the right of survivorship if a property owner severs a joint tenancy, something a lawyer involved in the case is calling a useful clarification for a “murky area” of real estate law.
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December 10, 2024
Date of death: Determining commencement of the limitation period
In our last article with Law360 Canada, Palak Mahajan and I wrote about the relevance of the recent decision of Ingram v. Kulynych Estate, 2024 ONCA 678, with respect to limitation periods. Limitation periods continue to be an overarching factor that plays one of the most important roles of every file/case that comes through the door. Another case that exemplifies the significance of limitation periods is Shannon v. Hrabovsky, 2024 ONCA 188 (Shannon), by the Court of Appeal, which addressed the issue of when the discoverability principle applies to estate claims and whether the limitation period runs from the date of death of the testator.
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December 06, 2024
3 new associates join Aird & Berlis
A recent news release from Aird & Berlis LLP announced the addition of Daniel Hunter, Linda Guma and Evan Pernica as associates.
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December 06, 2024
PROCEEDINGS - Appeals and judicial review - Standard of review - Palpable and overriding error
Appeal by Flanigan from dismissal of his application for family maintenance and support (FMS) against the estate of his late adult interdependent partner, Kirkland. Kirkland died on November 12, 2022, leaving her estate equally to her children in a will dated September 2, 2021, with no provision for Flanigan. The Court of King's Bench issued a grant of probate on February 9, 2023.
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December 02, 2024
Judicial appointment announced in B.C.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani announced the appointment of Lindsay R. LeBlanc as a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Victoria, a Nov. 29 news release announced.
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December 02, 2024
Debating privileged wills: Should we still have them?
Most courts in Canada now have the power to validate wills that do not comply with the requisite formalities of execution and submit them to probate, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories. Ontario is the most recent province to introduce the will-validating power, having enacted s. 21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act (the SLRA) on Jan. 1, 2022.