Articles 2024

Members of the Ontario Trusts and Estates bar met in November for the OBA’s monthly Brown Bag Lunch. Topics discussed included the handling of cheques made out to an estate where probate has not yet been obtained, the new CRA trust reporting requirements and indemnity agreements from a bank requiring an attorney seeking to act under a continuing power of attorney for property to indemnify the bank for any loss.

The first Brown Bag Lunch of the OBA’s 2023-2024 term was held on October 17, 2023. After taking a break over the summer, OBA members were eager to gather to discuss matters related to their practice, including obtaining electronic certificates of appointment of estate trustee, probate forms, affidavits of condition of Will or codicil, and codicils generally.

On October 19, 2023, experts gathered on the OBA’s panel and provided meaningful insights on comprehensive end-of-life planning. Beyond wills, the panel emphasized the importance of key documents, such as powers of attorney and advance care directives, to ensure that end-of-life wishes are well understood, documented, and followed. The audience was also reminded of the significance of family involvement, transparent communication, and early initiation of uncomfortable discussions.

The Ontario Estates Bench-Bar Liaison Committee met in June 2023 to discuss various matters, including filing of Motions for Directions, electronic filing of a Notice of Objection, decisions that applied s. 21.1 of the SLRA to validate Wills that were not properly executed and scheduling in the Toronto Estates Office.

Beneficiary designations can be a useful estate planning tool with the added benefit of helping to reduce exposure to Ontario’s estate administration tax; however, utilizing them is not without its pitfalls. In this article, Blair Botsford reviews key issues relating to beneficiary designations, including certain drafting challenges.

Section 21.1 of the Ontario Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) provides a validating power to judges of the Superior Court to remedy situations where testamentary documents fail to meet formalities of execution. In this article, Krystyne Rusek and Matthew Bradley canvas some of the case law to date on the Court’s validating power under s. 21.1.

In May 2022, further to recommendations by the Competence Task Force of the Law Society of Ontario, Convocation voted to wind up its Certified Specialist Program (“CSP”). Following feedback from the profession with respect to its decision, Convocation suspended the CSP windup and instead committed to a consultation with the profession on the issue. Demetre Vasilounis provides an update on the OBA’s submissions in this article.

Jackson v Rosenberg, a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, reminds us of the complications that can arise when adding an adult as joint tenant on property for probate planning purposes. In this article, Jennifer Corak reviews the Court’s considerations and conclusions.

The warm and long summer days brought with them changes to the Ontario court forms for applications for appointment of estate trustee under the Rules of Civil Procedure. In this article, Lori Isaj and Sanaya Mistry review changes to Forms 74A, 74.1A and 74J.

On June 26, 2023, Howard Black was presented with the OBA Award of Excellence in Trusts and Estates for 2023. For anyone who may have missed this wonderful event, or for those who want to experience it again, Howard has kindly agreed to share a copy of his speech. Many congratulations to the very deserving Howard Black.