Wills, Trusts & Estates
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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.
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September 16, 2025
Cabinet says new criminal legislation coming in ‘matter of days’ but federal budget not till Nov. 4
With MPs back in the capital for the fall, the first two days in the House of Commons were busy ones for legislators. On Sept. 16, 2025, Justice Minister Sean Fraser disclosed some of the Liberal government’s immediate plans and timing for new criminal justice legislation, while Finance and National Revenue Minister François-Philippe Champagne informed the Commons today that he will deliver a somewhat tardy federal budget on Nov. 4, 2025 — not in October, as Liberal House Leader Steven MacKinnon stated when he laid out the minority government’s fall agenda at a press conference the previous day.
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September 15, 2025
Business succession: It’s not business, it’s personal
In an earlier article, I wrote about taking responsibility for planning for the succession of personal and business affairs and threatened that my wife, Maureen McKay, and I would write subsequent articles to explore this topic.
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September 15, 2025
Extending reach of will validation power to cure lost testamentary instruments
If a copy of a will is discovered after a person passes away but the original cannot be found, the question that typically arises is whether the copy can be admitted to probate.
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September 12, 2025
Business succession: Laughing about death, taxes and other sad stuff
My wife, Maureen McKay, is the love of my life, so it is only natural that I want to be sure that she will be well taken care of when I pop off. And since I am now 70 years old and she is quite a bit younger than I am, it only makes sense that I would try to put some things in order to make it easier for her to go shopping when I nod off for the last time.