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What Happens When Someone is Found in Contempt of Court?
This blog will act as a “part 2” to Joanna Lindenberg’s previous blog post about contempt orders found here, and will serve as a broad overview on punishments for civil contempt. When someone does find themselves in the ill-advised position of being cited or declared as in contempt of Court for disobeying a Court Order…read more
Swedish Death Cleaning and Digital Clutter
Swedish Death Cleaning is the Scandinavian practice of taking stock of your life and pairing down your possessions. Unlike other decluttering methods, the purpose of Swedish Death Cleaning is to manage your possessions and assets in a way to not burden your loved ones after your death. It asks you to consider your legacy and…read more
Mandatory Mediation: Where, What, Why
For more than two decades, mediation has been mandatory in certain jurisdictions in Ontario for most matters involving estates, trusts, and substitute decisions. Toronto, Ottawa, and the County of Essex are subject to mandatory mediation pursuant to and governed by rule 75.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, O. Reg. 194. The types…read more
A Refresher of Courtroom Etiquette
For civil matters, parties represented by a lawyer do not necessarily need to attend a hearing. For parties who may want attend court hearings anyways, here are a few etiquette and practical considerations to be aware of prior to entering the court room: For virtual hearings: – Log in to the zoom link several minutes…read more
Friends Turned Foes: Application of the Limitations Act on Informal Loans
Loans between family or friends is a common practice. These agreements are often free of the interest rates and nexus of paperwork attached to loans provided by financial institutions. While the prospect of helping out a loved one may seem like an attractive opportunity, the informal nature of these loans carries the risk of non-payment….read more
When You Can’t Afford a Funeral
A CBC news article published last week highlighted a mother’s grief after the death of her daughter because the family could not afford a funeral. Tragically, the body of the deceased daughter was held in a hospital freezer as the morgue was at capacity. While the CBC article mentioned financial assistance available in Newfoundland and…read more
Professional ETs and ETDLs
Many testators find it difficult to select an estate trustee for their estates when drafting a will. In some cases, a parent may worry that his or her children are already busy with work and with their own children, and do not want to burden them by naming them as estate trustee (“ET”) in the…read more
Tolling Agreements
Limitation periods should always be on the mind of a litigator. Getting caught on the wrong side of a limitation can derail a lawsuit or court application: no matter how strong your case is, if you are out of time, it won’t even get off the ground. Often the first thing a lawyer will do…read more
Capacity to Grant and Revoke Powers of Attorney
The validity of powers of attorney can be challenged on the basis that the grantor was incapable when she signed the power of attorney. The requisite capacity to grant a power of attorney for property is set out in s. 8(1) of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, SO 1992, c. 30 (the “SDA”) which provides…read more
Renounce, Remove, or Pass Over – What’s the Difference?
Not everyone is well suited or willing to act as an estate trustee – the job can be onerous and family dynamics can make it especially challenging. As a result, the person named as an estate trustee in a will, or who has the first right to act as estate trustee under the Estates Act,…read more