Generally, a court proceeding is categorized as either an action or an application. Both actions and applications end with a judge making a decision (judgment); however, an action concludes with a trial and live witnesses and an application is conducted by way of a ‘paper trial’ (i.e. no live witnesses). In both cases, judges will […]
In a previous blog (found here), I commented on the role of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (the “OCL”) in representing the interests of a child under the age of 18, in cases in Ontario involving estates and trusts. There are various nuances to the OCL’s role in such matters. While settlements impacting minors
Whether a deceased person had testamentary capacity to execute his or her will is a question often raised in estate litigation and is the subject of many will challenges. A contemporaneous assessment of a testator’s capacity is not always conducted, and sometimes, even if such an assessment was done, it may be flawed or unreliable
Estate litigation cases often deal with multifaceted issues where family members feud about a variety of matters. Will challenges, dependant relief applications and passings of accounts are a few of the types of disputes which result in extensive, protracted and lengthy litigation. In such circumstances, parties often look to appoint an estate trustee during litigation
The law is constantly evolving and being refined. Most recently, a provision was added to Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”), which deals with how an estate is to be distributed when there is no will. In particular, on January 1, 2022, section 43.1 was amended to add that there is
