our 10th year
blog anniversary
Given the absolute importance of ensuring our clients’ final wishes will be properly carried out, and their loved ones properly cared for, estate planning lawyers approach their work with an almost unparalleled level of seriousness and gravity, often leaving very little room for humor to intrude. That is not to
Spence v BMO Trust Company, 2016 ONCA 196, is a topical case which has featured in our blog as recently as January 2023. This case serves as a reminder that testamentary freedom – a will-maker’s right to dispose of his or her property as he or she sees fit – is
This is definitely dating myself, but in thinking about this blog I was unable to get Jon Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” out of my head (check it out on YouTube here). Sorry for the earworm! Mr. Bon Jovi (we’ve never met, so I’ll not call him Jon just yet)
Testamentary freedom – the freedom to dispose of your estate as you wish – is a longstanding principle in Canada and other common law jurisdictions, although each province and territory in Canada has its own governing legislation as well as its own developing caselaw. In contrast, forced heirship is the
The family landscape is changing with increases in blended families, matrimonial breakdown and cohabiting. This may mean shifting family dynamics and relationships, which will likely translate to more complex estate planning. A parent may not want to pass his or her property to a child for a number of reasons.
One of the most important aspects of estate planning for families is ensuring that everyone who is considered to be part of the family is able to share in the family wealth after death. While each holder of family wealth has different views on how and when this should occur,
In Canada, succession rights are often discussed in the framework of testamentary freedom – see for example our previous blog regarding testamentary freedom which discusses disinheriting a beneficiary such as a child who might expect to inherit. But in many parts of the world, a person not only cannot disinherit
Individuals in Ontario are free to pass their property on death as they wish, subject to certain legal limitations. This ability is often referred to as testamentary freedom and is a hallmark of English common law. Over the years, testamentary freedom has lost ground to other public policy objectives, such
One of the hallmarks of the English common law is the notion of testamentary freedom–that each of us is free to pass our property on death as we wish, and to whom we wish, and that we can be as foolish, eccentric or capricious as we choose to be, subject
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