Last week, Justin de Vries presented at the Estate Planning Council of Canada’s All About Estate Planning event. For this talk, he co-authored a paper with Tyler Lin on the subject of Near Death Decisions & Deathbed Wills. We hope you enjoy reading this paper.
On September 23-24, Justin de Vries will be speaking at the Frontenac Law Association, 1000 Island Legal Conference in Gananoque, Ontario on the subject of Estates, Trusts and Capacity Case Law Update 2022. We hope you can attend. Happy reading.
Did you know that deathbed wills are the original will? In this paper published by the Law Society of Ontario’s annual Six-Minute Estates Lawyer 2022 program, Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin explore best practices for solicitors in navigating a deathbed retainer scenario. This paper is structured around three general tips for the consultation, pre-retainer…
The Superior Court of Justice in Ontario has not followed Calmusky with respect to beneficiary designations.
The determination of whether a person is incapable is ultimately a legal one not a medical/clinical one. While a report from a certified capacity assessor is not necessarily required, the convention among lawyers and the court is to rely on a capacity assessment as the best evidence of incapacity where capacity is in dispute.
In this paper co-authored by Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin, the authors deal with the “hotchpot clause”, a common estate planning tool. Part I of this paper addresses what is, and is not meant by this term with multiple meanings. Part II of this paper examines the three reasons for why, in the current…
Rapid growths in technology can catalyze changes to the law. But what happens when that growth outpaces legal developments? In this paper, Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin examine the disruptive effects that recent breakthroughs in technology has had on the field of estate litigation. Part I of this paper covers the arrival of the…
The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Moore v. Sweet provides meaningful clarification on the Canadian law of unjust enrichment and the equitable concept of constructive trusts.
In Seepa v. Seepa, Justice Myers declined to grant a consent order for directions in a will challenge case, and instead required the parties to argue the issue on the merits. In order to obtain disclosure and procedural rights in such cases, Justice Myers indicated that bald allegations of lack of testamentary capacity and undue…
It is now all too common that family disputes erupt over issues of capacity and managing parents’ property and personal care. As society ages and people live longer, more disputes and litigation will inevitably and regrettably arise (and already do). Clients come to lawyers seeking advice. Common questions included: What are the duties and responsibilities…