Family
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May 30, 2025
Can a will altered by someone other than the deceased be validated?
The will validation power is a potent tool, empowering the courts to save testamentary documents that do not comply with the statutory formalities of execution applicable to wills. However, the will validation power does not place any restrictions on who can create a non-compliant instrument for the deceased — validation is not limited to instruments created or altered by the deceased or their lawyer.
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May 30, 2025
N.L. accepting grant proposals for violence prevention program
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is inviting proposals for its 2025 Community Violence Prevention Grants Program.
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May 30, 2025
Canada might not be for sale ... but is Ontario?
Ontario Premier Doug Ford campaigned on a tough response to Trump’s bullying, but now that he has his new mandate, it sure looks to me like he is adopting the president’s authoritarian playbook. That should be no surprise, since he frequently expressed admiration for the Donald before the latter declared a trade war.
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May 28, 2025
Justice minister defends Trudeau bail reforms, but throne speech confirms new restrictions coming
The official Opposition Conservatives have renewed calls to repeal the Trudeau government’s so-called “catch and release” bail reforms, but the new Carney government is defending the changes while pledging to legislate new bail restrictions for certain crimes and repeat offenders.
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May 29, 2025
Honourable Lee Anne MacLeod-Archer retires from Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
The Honourable Lee Anne MacLeod-Archer is retiring after 11 years of service on the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division).
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May 29, 2025
Is it a rabbit or a duck? Why lawyers must be storytellers
Every lawyer has been there. We have laid out the facts. We have cited the law. We have prepared what we believe is a clear and persuasive argument. And yet the court saw something else — something that seems, at first glance, unrecognizable.
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May 29, 2025
Judge blows the cap on retroactive child support
Not every case has such juicy facts like those in Jansen v. DiCecco, 2025 ONCJ 189, in which a father was ordered to pay $899,811 forthwith in back child support for 22 years.
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May 28, 2025
Common pitfalls in tribunal adjudication of mental health matters, part two: Potential solutions
In part one of this series, I highlighted due process and natural justice or fairness concerns identified by reviewing courts in two mental health tribunal proceedings. In a span of less than four weeks recently, decisions of Ontario’s civil mental health adjudicator, the Consent and Capacity Board, and the Criminal Code-based forensic psychiatric administrative tribunal, the Ontario Review Board, were overturned and returned to them for re-hearing in Hastick v. Banik, 2025 ONSC 3007 and Clayton (Re), respectively.
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May 28, 2025
When a child turns away: Understanding the difference between parental alienation and estrangement
In family law, it’s not unusual to see situations where a child refuses to spend time with one parent. But behind that refusal, there’s often a deeper story. The challenge, both for the courts and for the families themselves, is to understand what that story really is.
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May 28, 2025
MARITAL OR FAMILY PROPERTY - Equalization or division - Agreements - Contribution of parties
Appeal by wife from order of trial judge relating to property division and retroactive child and spousal support.