Legal costs mount as court interprets ambiguous will
In the worst cases, feuding family members will go to war in court, seizing on words and phrases in a loved one’s will that are open to interpretation, in order…
Succession planning a must for lawyers
Lawyers need to practice what they preach and implement a succession plan that kicks in when they are no longer willing or able to continue in the profession. Sole and…
Double-check the details to keep your will out of the courts
Details matter when you’re drafting a will. The case list in Ontario’s Superior Court is full of feuding family members who have seized on inaccuracies and ambiguities in a loved…
Grandparents named primary carers of child following mother’s dying wish
Testators do not get the last word over the guardianship of their minor children, but that shouldn’t stop you from naming your preferred caregivers just in case the worst should…
Lottery ticket, gambling addiction. Free public domain CC0 photo.
Deceased woman’s $3-milion lottery win sparks estate fight
When Frances Lloyd checked her lottery numbers the morning after a June 2021 Lotto 6/49 draw, the Vancouver Islander couldn’t believe what she saw. Lloyd had matched all 6 numbers,…
Sibling executors jailed for contempt
Sibling rivalries are a bit like a dormant volcano: even when they look calm, they never really stop bubbling under the surface, before erupting into view, apparently at random. The…
Document gifts to kids or risk estate litigation
It’s sometimes hard to tell who is happier when generous parents present a large gift to their grateful child. But the mutual joy could be short lived if the transaction…
New trust reporting rules on their way
Trusts are getting more transparent. Since 2018, the Federal government has been planning to chip away at the privacy of a wide variety of trust types. Legislation originally slated to…
Who is a spouse? Not always who you might think
Determining who is a testator’s spouse is not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance. In a recent B.C. case, a Chinese woman failed in an attempt to…
Canada’s common-law couple boom calls for estates action
Canada’s common-law couple boom must be matched by a wave of new estate plans if spouses want to be protected when their partners die. Over the last few decades, common-law…
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