Wills, Trusts & Estates
-
October 02, 2025
Line crossed: IRCC’s proposed administrative monetary penalties should alarm all Canadian bars
The federal government is quietly implementing a regulatory framework that should alarm every lawyer in Canada, regardless of practice area. Under the guise of addressing immigration “ghost consultants,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has crafted administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) that grant it unprecedented authority to discipline lawyers — the same lawyers who routinely challenge that department’s decisions in court.
-
September 29, 2025
B.C. court rejects 25% property claim over decades-old conditional promise
The B.C. Supreme Court has rejected a claim to 25 per cent of the proceeds from a property sale, brought by individuals whose father had been promised a quarter share of the land if it had been successfully subdivided.
-
September 26, 2025
Ontario opening of the courts ceremony highlights digitization, reform of Rules of Civil Procedure
On Sept. 25, judges, attorneys general, leaders of law associations and others met for Ontario’s opening of the courts ceremony, discussing various strategies that have been and will be undertaken to improve access to justice. This included digitization and reformation of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
-
September 25, 2025
Is it or isn’t it? FCA weighs in on compliance of $300M RRSP
A registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) is structured to allow eligible Canadians to accumulate income tax-free in an account. Withdrawals are taxable but can be made at a relatively low tax rate compared to that paid for investments outside an RRSP. The account is meant to facilitate investment for retirement purposes and considerable tax savings can be realized.
-
September 23, 2025
Getting to ‘yes’: Settlement approvals for persons under disability
No settlement involving a person under disability, which includes the elderly incapable of managing their property and personal care, is binding on that incapable person unless the court approves of the settlement. That is because, while settling disputes before a hearing is encouraged by our judicial system, the legislature also recognizes that the incapable person would not have been able to properly consent to the settlement, and the court ought to review settlement for appropriateness to safeguard the incapable person’s interests.
-
September 19, 2025
SCC rules 5-4 in favour of Toronto homeowners’ adverse possession claim against municipal parkland
In a far-reaching adverse possession judgment that rejects a judge-made immunity for municipal parkland facing matured possessory claims in Ontario, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 5-4 that two Toronto homeowners own a piece of adjoining municipal parkland that was fenced into their backyard decades ago by the home’s previous owner.
-
September 18, 2025
Business succession: Behold, the powers of attorney
Once upon a time, I had a client named Jack whose mother had granted him a power of attorney (POA). Some years later, Mom’s capacity became questionable. Jack’s sister, Jill, wanted to have Mom create a new POA in her favour that would terminate Jack’s POA. The future of a family business hung in the balance.
-
September 17, 2025
The future of estate law: Human AI prompts for the protection of creative legacies
“Non omnis moriar” (Not all of me will die) — Charles Jennens (1773)
-
September 17, 2025
New U of T animal law program first of its kind in Canada
In a first for Canada, the University of Toronto’s law school has launched a new program that will look at the evolving legal treatment of pets and animals. The animal law program at U of T’s Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law will offer a comprehensive engagement with the complex legal frameworks surrounding animal rights, welfare and protection.
-
September 17, 2025
Business succession: Team sports in the legal profession
If every family is dysfunctional, and each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, then to fix them, we need to have more than one tool available. And if the type of thinking that fixes problems is different than the type of thinking which created them, then to work with families on business succession we need to look for solutions in places that the families have not considered.