Margaret O’Sullivan

Upcoming

• November 13-16, 2024
  Margaret O’Sullivan will attend the Private Client International Forum, Cernobbio, Italy. The signature annual conference, organized by Private Client Global Elite, for leading international private client lawyers from around the world discussing the most topical and pressing issues facing private clients through working sessions and panel discussions (by invitation only).
• November 14, 2024
  Margaret O’Sullivan has been invited to speak on the topic “The Hitchhikers Guide to Capacity” at the Private Client Forum, to be held at the Villa d’Este, Lake Como, Italy, November 13 to 16, 2024.
• March 20-22, 2025
  Margaret O’Sullivan will participate on a panel discussion titled “It’s Complicated: Multijurisdictional Incapacity,” at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Palm Springs, California.

Recent

• October 27-29, 2024, Margaret O’Sullivan attended the Cambridge Forum for Senior Estates and Trusts Practitioners, Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario (by invitation only).
• October 23 – 25, 2024, Margaret O’Sullivan attended the Private Client Global Elite: Minds of the Future, The Cotswolds, U.K. Exploring future trends and directions in private client work including in the context of the global economy.
• October 6-8, 2024, O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers LLP was proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the inaugural STEP Canada-USA Cross-Border Conference in Chicago. The conference featuree 32 leading specialists discussing the latest trends and developments in cross-border estate planning and wealth management in Canada and the US. Enrolment was limited to 200 in-person attendees.
• October 3, 2024, Margaret O’Sullivan spoke on the estate planning needs of women at the Women’s Financial Mastery Series hosted by Nicola Wealth in Toronto. She will spoke and took questions on: marriage contracts and co-habitation agreements; wills and multiple wills; cross-border considerations; gifting to adult children; and family trusts. Private event.
• Margaret O’Sullivan spoke at the Transcontinental Trusts Bermuda Conference, June 20-21, 2024.
• Margaret O’Sullivan chaired a panel session on cross-border incapacity issues at the International Academy of Trust and Estate Law (TIAETL) in Mayakoba, Mexico, May 19 – 23, 2024.
• The O’Sullivan Team presented a 1-hour webinar, “It’s Complicated: Estate Planning and Administration for the Modern Family,” on March 27, 2024, through London, U.K.-based legal publisher Mondaq.This webinar assisted in identifying key issues advisers and their clients need to know about including: cultural intelligence and multijurisdictional expertise; challenges of blended families; evolving definitions of “parent,” “child,” “issue,” and “spouse”; obstacles and conflicts when wills and trusts cross borders; and gender identity and fluidity and its impact on estate planning and drafting.Case studies were used to illustrate how these problems and issues arise and solutions to deal with them.To access the March 27, 2024 webinar recording, click here.To view the PowerPoint presentation for the March 27, 2024 webinar, click here.
• Margaret O’Sullivan spoke on “Modern Estate Planning for Modern Families” at the STEP Bermuda Annual Conference on November 27 – 29, 2023
• Margaret O’Sullivan attended the Private Client Forum hosted by Legal Week in Cernobbio, Italy on November 15 – 17, 2023.
• Margaret O’Sullivan attended the Private Client Exchange hosted by Legal Week in Vence, France on October 12-13, 2023.
• O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers LLP were pleased to be a Gold Sponsor of the Annual Conference of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Canada, held on June 19 and 20, 2023, in Toronto.
• Margaret O’Sullivan spoke on “Estate Planning for the Modern Family,” at the STEP Caribbean Conference, held in Panama City, Panama, May 11 – 13, 2023.
• The O’Sullivan Team hosted an international webinar for members of Mondaq, on “Navigating the Cross-Border Highway: A Roadmap for Canada-U.S. Estate Planning and Administration” on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
• Margaret O’Sullivan attended the Annual Meeting of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) in New Orleans, U.S., on March 2-4, 2023.
• Margaret O’Sullivan was a speaker on “An Update from Canada” on Canadian developments in estate planning for private clients and family offices at the STEP Cayman Conference – International Wealth Structuring Forum, Grand Cayman, on January 19-20, 2023.
• Margaret O’Sullivan participated in a panel discussion on a virtual webinar focused on “How are lawyers evolving their estate practices to deliver results?” Topics covered during the webinar included: meeting evolving client needs and innovation beyond people, process and technology. This event was part of the Canadian Legal Innovation Forum Fall Webinar Series on November 8, 2022.
• Margaret O’Sullivan led a session, organized by the Cambridge Forum, that explored challenging issues around family trusts. The session was be held at Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario, October 23 – 25, 2022.
• Margaret was on an international panel to discuss the issues and challenges that families regularly face in appointing an executor of a cross-border estate and address the significance of adequate estate planning. Hosted by STEP’s Cross-Border Special Interest Group, on September 27, 2022.
• Margaret spoke on the topic“The Cross-Border Advisor: Globalization, Populism and Backlash,” at the STEP Global Congress in London, England, July 6 to 8, 2022.
• Margaret was invited to be both a Member of the Advisory Board and a Presenter at the Private Client Forum Americas, in Mayakoba, Mexico, July 13 to 15, 2022.
• Margaret with the O’Sullivan Team hosted a webinar for readers of international legal publication Mondaq, on the topic “It’s Complicated: Solutions for Planning and Administering an Estate with Foreign Connections” on March 24, 2022.
• Margaret was a speaker at “A Conversation with Experienced Estate Planners,” hosted by the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) on January 18, 2022.
• Margaret spoke on “Cross-Border Estate Planning Considerations, at the “Institute Across Borders: Legal Issues and Best Practices for Ontario Lawyers Around the World,” organized by the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) on November 9, 2021.
• Margaret presented “Powers of Attorney: The Hurdles Associated With the Practical Use of a Power of Attorney in Today’s World” on the topic of “Cross-Border Recognition of Powers of Attorney” at the Elder Law Online Symposium, organized by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), on September 24, 2021.
• Margaret designed and moderated an international webinar, titled “Civil Law and Common Law: A Comparison of Estate Administration on Death,” on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. This event was hosted by the Cross-Border Special Interest Group of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Worldwide.
• Margaret spoke at the International Estate Planning Committee meeting, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Annual Meeting on March 2, 2021, on taxation on death in Canada and inheritance and wealth taxes.
• Margaret spoke at the Global Elite panel on February 10th, 2021. The panel discussed the pandemic’s impact on the perception of wealth, and shone a spotlight on the topic of a wealth tax (or its lack thereof) across several jurisdictions. Margaret was representing Canada; other panelists were from UK, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland.
• Margaret and the O’Sullivan team hosted a webinar, “Using Multijurisdictional Wills and Powers of Attorney,” on January 20, 2021, in conjunction with Chambers and Partners. Registrants spanned 43 countries around the world.
• Margaret spoke on a panel of senior trust and estate practitioners at the OBA Trusts and Estates Section Program on topical issues in estate planning on January 14, 2021.
• “A Comparative Review of the Use of Will Substitutes.” Margaret moderated this session which included panelists Lionel Smith, law professor at McGill University (expert in common law, estate planning and trusts), and Dr. Gregor Christandl, LL.M. (Yale), associate professor at the University of Innsbruck (expert in civil law and estate planning) on December 1, 2020. The live webcast was part of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) Worldwide Spotlight Sessions.
• Margaret spoke on the topic of wealth taxes for a presentation by Queen’s University Alumni, on November 24, 2020.
• “Incapacity at Home and Abroad: Jurisdictional Challenges” – Margaret O’Sullivan was one of three panelists who explored the challenges that can arise from the perspective of both civil-law jurisdictions, such as France, Portugal, and Mexico, and common-law jurisdictions, such as Florida, California, and Arizona, on October 27, 2020.
• Margaret and the O’Sullivan team of estate lawyers hosted a webinar, “Planning and Administering an Estate with Foreign Connections,” in conjunction with Key Media, publishers of Canadian Lawyer magazine and The Law Times, on September 23, 2020.
• Margaret attended the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Annual Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida on March 4-8, 2020.
• Margaret was a member of the Global Legal Week Private Client Forum Americas Advisory Board that organized the Forum held in Riviera Maya, Mexico on February 5-7, 2020. She spoke on the issue of death taxes and wealth taxes.
• Margaret helped organize and spoke at the STEP Cross-Border Estates program “Multiple Taxation on Death”, London, U.K. on November 22, 2019.
• Speaker, OBA Trusts & Estates Section Program on November 11, 2019 on a panel of senior estate planning lawyers to discuss best practices in the area of estate planning.
• O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers hosted a webinar on the topic “Protecting a Child’s Inheritance,” October 24, 2019.
• Attended the annual conference of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, May 20-23, 2019, Tokyo, Japan.
• Speaker, “Recent Canadian Estate Planning Developments,” STEP International Tax and Estate Planning Forum: Around the Globe, Laguna Beach, CA May 9 and 10, 2019.
• Speaker, “Canadian Estate Planning Developments,” Global Legal Week Private Client Forum Americas 2019, Newport Beach, CA March 27-29.
• Presenter to Faculty Leadership on “Gift Planning on Death,” Queen’s University, Kingston, January 28, 2019.
• Attended Senior Trust and Estate Practitioners Forum October 14-16, 2018.
• Presenter, Wills & Estates Planning Seminar, Pal Insurance, October 11, 2018.
• Chair, Program Committee, STEP Global Congress, Vancouver, September 13-14, 2018.
• Speaker, Conflict of Laws, STEP Annual Conference, Toronto, May 28-29, 2018.
• Speaker, Contingency Planning on Death, BloombergSen Women’s event, May 1, 2018.
• Speaker, Key Estate Planning Issues, Georgian Triangle Lifelong Learning, Collingwood, April 20, 2018.
• Attended American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, March 8 – 11, 2018.
• Co-chair and presenter, STEP Cross-Border Estates- Mental & Incapacity Session, London, U.K., November 30, 2017.
• Presenter, Estate Planning Breakfast Workshop, Pal Insurance, November 14, 2017.
• Attended American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Fall Meeting, Nashville, October 12-22, 2017.
• Presenter, Cidel Provence Estate Planning Conference, September 2017.
• Speaker, “Discretionary Trusts – Practical Concerns”, STEP Canada 19th National Conference, Toronto, June 12 -13, 2017.
• Presenter, Canada-U.S. Cross Border Estate Planning Issues, National Bank, Toronto, June 7, 2017.
• Speaker, “Estate Planning for Global Families”, STEP Toronto, April 12, 2017.
• Speaker, Technologic: Technological Liberation and the Transparency of Trust”, Mayan Riviera, Mexico, February 15-17, 2017.
• Presenter, Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc., Private Client Lunch Seminar, February 9, 2017.
• 2016 CBA Wills, Estates and Trusts Fundamentals for Estate Practitioners program, “Conflicts of Laws”, Toronto, October 26, 2016.
• Canadian Tax Foundation, 2016 Ontario Tax Conference, Co-Presenter: “Multijurisdictional Estate Planning”, Toronto, October 25, 2016.
• Law Society of Ontario Practice Gems: The Administration of Estates program, Presenter: “Issues Arising Where There Are Foreign Beneficiaries or Legal Representatives of an Estate”, Toronto, September 20, 2016.
• 2016 STEP National Conference, Panel Presentation: “The Impact of the European Regulation on Succession in Canada”, Toronto, June 10, 2016.
• CBA Wills, Estates and Trusts Fundamentals for Estate Practitioners program, “Conflict of Laws,” Toronto, October 15-18, 2015.
• 2015 Cidel Provence Conference, “Multijurisdictional Incapacity and Will Planning for the Mobile Client,” Provence, France. September 2015.
• OBA Litigation and Administration of Foreign Trusts and Assets program, “Critical Guidance for the Planning and Administration of Foreign Assets,” Toronto, April 9, 2015.
• Estate Planning & Litigation Forum, “Losing Your Marbles at Home and Abroad: Mental Incapacity and Multijurisdictional Planning,” Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario, April 28, 2015.
• STEP Journal, Book Review of John Poyser’s Capacity and Undue Influence, March 2015.
• Private Client Forum Americas 2015, “War Within: Mental Incapacity and Cross-Border Planning for Assets in Multiple Jurisdictions” (Panel Discussion), Papagayo Bay, Costa Rica, February 4-6, 2015.
• Knowledge Bureau Workshop, “Attorney School: Handling Financial Affairs for a Loved One,” Toronto, November 29, 2014.
• STEP Global Congress 2014, “Multijurisdictional assets — challenges for estate planning and dealing with mental incapacity,” Miami, Florida, November 6 & 7, 2014.