Articles 2021

Today
Today

Update from the Estates List Users Committee

  • May 04, 2020
  • Gillian Fournie, OBA Trusts & Estates Executive member, on behalf of the Estates List Users Committee

This article is essential reading for those with matters before the Toronto Estates Court. The Estates List Users’ Committee (“ELUC”) is comprised of members of the Toronto Estates Court and various stakeholders, including representatives of the OBA Estates & Trusts executive, who meet regularly to discuss issues affecting the court. This article summarizes the direction given by the court at recent meetings regarding practice during the suspension of normal court operations.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

Brown Bag Lunch – February 18, 2020

  • April 06, 2020
  • Rebecca Rauws, associate, and Celine Dookie, articling student, Hull & Hull LLP

Topics discussed at the February meeting included disclaimer provisions in mutual wills, tax treatment of attorney compensation, thorny issues facing the calculation of estate administration tax, and estate trustee liability in the face of an insufficient holdback, among others.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

Brown Bag Lunch – January 14, 2020

  • March 03, 2020
  • Rebecca Rauws, associate, and Tony Ma, articling student, Hull & Hull LLP,

A summary of the topics discussed at the January meeting of the OBA's Brown Bag Lunch program, or "BBL." Discussion covered planning-related topics such as ODSP limits, lifetime benefit trusts, and the prudent investor rule, as well as litigation issues such as bank policies around multiple attorneys acting under a joint POA, and the court's process when a Notice of Objection to a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee has been filed.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law
Kira Domratchev

Is an RESP a Trust? .... And So What If It Is?

  • March 03, 2020
  • Kira Domratchev, Hull & Hull LLP

Is an RESP a trust? The answer, this author discovers, depends on the context, and maybe the province. This article aims to cut through the confusion by going back to first principles, applying them to the unique ownership features of an RESP, and then considering how the case law compares.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law
Cara Zacks

Party Time? Naming Parties in a Dependant Support Application

  • March 03, 2020
  • Cara Zacks, Casey & Moss LLP

In law, sometimes the simplest questions are the most difficult to answer. This article explores why the fairly basic question of "who should I name as a party?" could yield contradictory answers in the context of a dependant's support application. In the face of a potential contradiction between the Succession Law Reform Act and the Rules of Civil Procedure, this article suggests some best practices for avoiding a last-minute adjournment of your client's application. 

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

Brown Bag Lunch – December 17, 2019

  • March 03, 2020
  • Rebecca Rauws, associate, and Devin McMurtry, articling student, Hull & Hull LLP

A summary of December's Brown Bag lunch meeting of estates and trusts practitioners. Topics discussed included NoticeConnect’s Will registry and who can submit Wills to the registry, whether a drafting lawyer can still be sued in negligence if the impugned Will has been probated, probate for digital assets, and the fate of basket clauses.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law
Blair L. Botsford

Real Estate Meets Trust Law: Land Registration Ontario Style

  • March 03, 2020
  • Blair L. Botsford, partner, Blaney McMurtry LLP,

Trust law can be difficult enough, but the Land Registry Office’s current approach to registering trusts (or refusing to do so) has further complicated matters, potentially obscuring the true ownership of land. This article explores the difficulties of the current treatment of trusts in the land titles system, and where that leaves lawyers interacting with the system.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law
Andrea M. Hill

The Hotchpot Clause: A Simple Tool for Equalizing Gifts to Beneficiaries

  • January 07, 2020
  • Andrea M. Hill, Turkstra Mazza Associates

When used properly, a hotchpot clause can equalize beneficiaries for a parent’s prior unequal treatment, promote fairness, and potentially reduce the prospect of estate litigation. But, these clauses require careful consideration and detailed information from the testator. Learn what a hotchpot clause can apply to, how exactly one brings past gifts or loans “into hotchpot,” and some issues to consider when drafting.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law
Kathryn Balter

A Reflection on the OBA’s Dinner with Senior Estate Planners

  • January 06, 2020
  • Kathryn Balter, partner, Fogler, Rubinoff LLP

The OBA’s Dinner with Senior Estate Planners is one of the most popular estate planning events of the year. In this article, one attendee highlights a few of the reasons for its success, and summarizes some key insights provided by the panelists.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law

Brown Bag Lunch - November 19, 2019

  • December 31, 2019
  • Rebecca Rauws, associate, and Celine Dookie, articling student, Hull & Hull LLP

Highlights from the November 19, 2019 Brown Bag Lunch, including discussions of Notice Connect's Will registry, minor children as beneficiaries of Henson trusts, the use of the phrase "children per stirpes," how a successor executor can be appointed, and a new approach to confirming the capacity of a potential testator client.

Student Forum, Trusts and Estates Law