Wills, Trusts & Estates
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September 03, 2025
Legal experts & advocates push PM Carney for urgent action to secure Canada’s ‘digital sovereignty’
Legal experts, advocacy organizations and prominent Canadians are asking Ottawa to urgently legislate and implement measures to counter the digital risks to Canada’s autonomy and democracy posed by artificial intelligence (AI), foreign interference and U.S. tech giants’ dominance of domestic digital infrastructure.
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September 03, 2025
A cautionary tale for farm succession planning
The Court of Appeal for Ontario’s recent decision in Metske v. Metske, 2025 ONCA 418 provides an important lesson to farming families and their professional advisers: good intentions and family loyalty, while laudable, are no substitute for clear, enforceable agreements. The decision narrows the scope of proprietary estoppel in the agricultural context and underlines the commercial reality that a succession plan must be both documented and financially achievable.
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September 02, 2025
LSM annual report a ‘comprehensive’ look at fiscal year, road ahead: president
As Manitoba’s law society takes stock of its most recent fiscal year, the regulator’s new president aims to continue the work of minding lawyers’ well-being as part of a new strategic plan. Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) president Kyle Dear recently sat down with Law360 Canada to discuss the recent release of the law society’s 2025 annual report — a 31-page snapshot of the regulator’s latest fiscal year, which ran from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
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August 27, 2025
O’Sullivan adds 2 new estate lawyers
O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers LLP has added two trust and estate lawyers: Josh Cohen and Namratha Sankar.
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August 26, 2025
Was father’s money for children to buy house a gift or loan?
Despite the recent market decline in Ontario, the high cost of real estate often pushes families to join together to fund down payments. In such circumstances, the legal consequences of commingling family funds may blur the lines between generosity and expectation.
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August 25, 2025
Increased judicial intervention to correct unfairness at key tribunals
Ontario’s administrative tribunals are facing increased scrutiny by the courts for unfairness in dismissing claims brought by tenants, landlords, employees, car accident victims and people who believe they have experienced discrimination or are seeking disability benefits.
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August 22, 2025
Estate planning: Ongoing income streams after death
For individuals benefitting from the payment of royalties, it is not uncommon for those payments to continue after death, which gives rise to considerations in the estate planning and estate administration contexts. The most prominent example in recent years may be that of Michael Jackson, recognized by Forbes as the highest-paid dead celebrity in 2024 and in several years prior — royalties earned from MJ: The Musical alone certainly bolstered the bottom line.
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August 21, 2025
‘Inadequate’ pay deters outstanding jurists from federal bench; $28,000 boost needed: commission
Canada’s 1,198 federally appointed judges should get a substantial lump sum salary increase — $28,000 — as their pay package is no longer enough to attract “outstanding” private bar lawyers to the bench, says the federal Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission, echoing warnings made by federal judicial leaders over the past few years.
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August 20, 2025
WILLS - Variation
Appeal by Erich from order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Robert had four children, Kyle, Brian, Renee and Ronald. Brian and Renee predeceased Robert. Ronald was not a party to the appeal. Erich was Brian’s son. Robert and Erich had a strained relationship.
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August 19, 2025
Determining value for corporate beneficial ownership registers
Recently enacted legislation requires additional reporting of beneficial ownership for private company shares, including as regards shareholders that are trusts. In order to comply, one criterion to determine is whether an ownership interest has sufficient value to be reported, an area where the legal rules combine with business valuation principles to arrive at the correct reporting position.