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Toronto Estate Law Blog 

Provided by Hull & Hull.
Post Frequency: 10.9/day Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 08:48:24 Recent Entries: 1124
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Statutory Authority to Dispense with Security Bonds
Posted on April 15, 2010Section 35 of the Estates Act establishes a general requirement that estate trustees (though not executors) post security bonds. Rule 74.11(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure contains a mechanism defining the amount and form of the bond. Of course, many if not most applications for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will include a request for an order dispensing with the requirement to post a bond...
Barring Late Objections in Passings of Accounts
Posted on April 14, 2010Rules 74.16 to 74.18 provide the framework for a passing of accounts application. Rule 74.18(12) is a useful limitation clause that provides counsel with legal authority to attempt to bar new issues from being raised at the hearing: "(12) No objection shall be raised at the hearing that was not raised in a notice of objection to accounts, unless the court orders otherwise...
Dementia and the N.F.L.
Posted on April 13, 2010As an avid sports fan, I enjoy watching the physical nature of most sports. Recently, our media has reported on the severity of head injuries, which are caused by 'head shots', and the need to implement rules in professional sports to prevent catastrophic head injuries from happening...
Planned Giving - Part 6 - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #200
Posted on April 13, 2010Listen to: Planned Giving – Part 6 – Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #200 This week on Hull on Estates Ian and Suzana continue their discussion on planned and charitable giving. Key quotes mentioned are from the book 'The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets the Business Plan' by Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon...
The Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test
Posted on April 12, 2010We repeatedly here about the grim details behind Alzheimer's disease. In a previous blog titled 'The Grim Toll of Alzheimer's', I touched on a reported study called The Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia in Canadian Society. This study has cited that as our population continues to age, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease is expected to double to 1...
Farrah Fawcett's Estate
Posted on April 09, 2010Shortly after Farrah Fawcett's death in June 2009, there was some controversy over the terms of her last Will. The bulk of her estate was apparently left in a lifetime trust for the benefit of her 24-year-old son, Redmond. The purpose of the lifetime trust, which Redmond will never personally control, is to provide support to him during his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction...
Estate Litigation and Costs Awards
Posted on April 08, 2010As noted in past blogs and podcasts, the modern rule that 'costs follow the event' also now generally applies to estate litigation. However, as demonstrated by a recent case out of Alberta, there are still instances where an unsuccessful party will not be held responsible for the costs of the successful party and will also recover their own costs from an estate...
Planned Giving - Part 5 - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #199
Posted on April 08, 2010Listen to: Planned Giving - Part 5 - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #199 This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian and Suzana continue the discussion from last week on the importance of planned and charitable giving with a focus on the book 'The Art of Giving Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan' by Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon...
The Battle over Boxer Gatti's Estate Continues
Posted on April 07, 2010Last year, I blogged on the controversy surrounding the estate of the late boxing champion, Arturo Gatti. The Montreal-born boxer and two-time world champion had died July 11, 2009 at a posh Brazilian seaside resort. Controversy surrounded his death, with his young widow initially suspected of killing him...
Collaborative Law and Estates Practice
Posted on April 06, 2010Collaborative Practice is a concept and practice that for some time has been familiar to and used by family law lawyers in Ontario (since about 2000), but to date has not formed part of any estate lawyer's practice. This may be changing soon...
Latest Pronouncement on Requests for Increased Costs on Applications to Pass Accounts
Posted on April 05, 2010In Re Estate of John Mitchell, the Endorsement of The Honourable Justice Brown clarifies expectations of the court in respect of requests for increased costs on unopposed applications to pass accounts, as the Rules of Civil Procedure contain some ambiguity in this regard...
Bequests to Minors - Hull on Estates #204
Posted on April 05, 2010Listen to: Bequests to Minors – Hull on Estates #204 This week on Hull on Estates, Nadia Harasymowycz and Paul Trudelle discuss bequests to minors and how a state trustee can deal with any issues that may arise...
The Rule in Clayton's Case
Posted on April 01, 2010In yesterday's blog I touched upon the rule in Re Hallett's Estate. In today's blog I will touch upon the rule in Clayton's Case (1816), 1 Mer. 529, 35 ER 767 (Ch.). Again, the rules stem from situations where a trustee mixes trust funds with their own funds or with a different trust's funds...
The Rule in Re Hallett's Estate
Posted on March 31, 2010In today's blog I will touch upon the rule in Re Hallet's Estate*. Tomorrow's blog will touch upon the rule in Clayton's Case. The rules stem from situations where a trustee mixes trust funds with their own funds or with a different trust's funds...
Upcoming 'Medical/Health Series' of Blogs
Posted on March 30, 2010The next Medical/Health series of blogs is scheduled to hit the platform on Monday May 3rd, 2010. The series will run every Monday thereafter in the month of May (with the exception of Victoria Day), for a total of four blogs. To keep things fresh, relevant and engaging, we are inviting suggestions for topics from you...
2010 OBA Trusts and Estates Section Year End Dinner
Posted on March 29, 2010The Ontario Bar Association (OBA), Trusts and Estates Section, year end dinner is taking place on June 1, 2010 at Archeo in the Distillery District in Toronto. The Reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Suzana Popovic-Montag, the Chair of the Section, will bring the past year to a close...
Unfinished Business: Administration of Estates After a Settlement
Posted on March 29, 2010Achieving a settlement is a major success in any estates dispute, but even the most comprehensive agreement cannot address every possible post-settlement wrinkle. The recent case of Viau v. Kozicki et al, 2010 ONSC 1682 is an example of how a court will interpret Minutes of Settlement following court approval (required in this case because there were minors)...
Trusts & Estates Law: A Lawyer's Perspective
Posted on March 26, 2010I am a big fan of the feel good test in my approach to success in law, business or anything else. It is not what people actually get that dictates success but how people feel about it at the end of the day. In a previous blog I commented that client satisfaction is based on this very principle, but what about our own success as lawyers? How those in the legal profession define success has many answers, depending on the individual and the area of law...
Stop that Arguing!
Posted on March 25, 2010There has been a lot of attention in Ontario lately about the intentions of litigants quarrelling over inheritance. As mentioned in a recent blog this can even happen in advance, in the form of capacity litigation. In recent cases the Court has made it clear that it is incumbent upon not only the parties but on counsel as well to cooperate sufficiently to move the litigation along...
Dead but Not Gone
Posted on March 24, 2010In any estates practice one is likely to see more than a few battles motivated by emotion rather than money. Take, for example, the not so unusual scenario of a younger woman who marries an older man and claims against his estate on his death...
Trustee Liability - Part 2 - Hull on Estates #203
Posted on March 23, 2010Listen to: Trustee Liability - Part 2 - Hull on Estates #203 This week on Hull on Estates, Bianca La Neve and Craig Vander Zee continue their discussion on ways to protect a Trustee from liability, particularly discussing the removal and/or replacement of a Trustee...
Practice Direction Retrospective: Scheduling Appointments, Hearing Matters and Adjournments (Part 1 of 2)
Posted on March 22, 2010It has now been almost a year since the April 1, 2009 Practice Direction Concerning the Estates List of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto so I thought I'd start the week with a with a two-part blog containing a few general observations and some practice tips for Toronto...
Practice Direction Retrospective: Scheduling Appointments, Hearing Matters and Adjournments (Part 2 of 2)
Posted on March 21, 2010Court appearances were split into two lists with the April 1, 2009 Practice Direction Concerning the Estates List of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto: Scheduling Appointments and Hearing Matters. Today's topic is Hearing Matters. Scheduling Appointments generally precede matters that will eventually require hearings of more than one hour...
When Does the Fight Really Start?
Posted on March 19, 2010In a recent article in the Toronto Star, estate litigation was explored from another angle; fighting over the estate before there really is one to fight over. The author of the article discusses a story regarding an individual who was waiting for his parents to pass away, so that he could reap the financial reward of their hard work...
St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
Posted on March 18, 2010I don't think that there was any way to walk around our city yesterday without seeing many people wearing green. I've always enjoyed a good St. Patrick's Day celebration, but for the first time yesterday I felt the need to find out a little more about the holiday...
Canadians Investing in U.S. Property
Posted on March 17, 2010I came across an interesting article by John Archer in the Gazette about real-estate investing in the U.S. Mr. Archer warns that while it has become a buyers' market, real-estate investing in the U.S. can leave Canadian speculators and leisure-property owners exposed to a variety of problems...
Another Family War
Posted on March 16, 2010As I have been practising in the area of estate litigation for a few years, I occasionally think that I have seen it all; that every recurring story I hear about a family war tends to lose its originality. Not true. Take for instance a recent story that was posted online in the Telegraph, involving a U...
Trustee Liability - Hull on Estates #202
Posted on March 16, 2010Listen to: Trustee Liability - Hull on Estates #202 This week on Hull on Estates, Bianca La Neve and Craig Vander Zee discuss ways to protect a Trustee from liability. If you have any comments, please email us at hull.lawyers@gmail.com or leave us a comment on our blog...
Planned Giving - Part 4 - Hull on Estates and Succession Planning #198
Posted on March 16, 2010Listen to: Planned Giving - Part 4 - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #198 This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian Hull continues his discussion on charitable remainder trusts. If you have any comments, please email us at hullandhull@gmail...
Succession Planning Crisis Looming Over Canadian Businesses
Posted on March 15, 2010Sara Crosbie, a writer with the Globe and Mail, recently published an article on the succession planning crisis looming over Canadian family businesses. In her article, Ms. Crosbie refers to a study completed by Deloitte and Touche, which indicates that two-thirds of Canadian families have no written contingency plans to guide them through a disability or death...
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Real Estate Brokers
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Real Estate Brokers
The role brokersplay
Estate Planning
Documents: durable power of attorney, living will, letter of instruction, and insurance trust
How to make a landlord honor an option to buy provision in the lease (OH)?
Most leases are written as a one year agreement, if neither party elects to form...
Can I sue the executor of my fathers estate?
Get a lawyer. Not one you pay by the hour - a contingency based attorney. If he ...
My father and mother died with a will. The will states that the family house be sold and any money left be divided equally among the sibling. The house as a loan against it for $200.000. The executor of the estate (my si
Contest the will, this should lock things up in probate and prevent her from doi...
When selling an inherited home, how to make sure that the beneficiaries are taxed on the stepped up basis?
The cost basis at which the beneficiaries receive the property is the current fa...
He has half brothers and sisters and I would prefer his estate go to only one of his half brothers, as he is the only one who cares about his well being.
If intellectually disabled means that a person would not be found competent to p...

How to make a landlord honor an option to buy provision in the lease (OH)?
Most leases are written as a one year agreement, if neither party elects to form...
Can I sue the executor of my fathers estate?
Get a lawyer. Not one you pay by the hour - a contingency based attorney. If he ...
My father and mother died with a will. The will states that the family house be sold and any money left be divided equally among the sibling. The house as a loan against it for $200.000. The executor of the estate (my si
Contest the will, this should lock things up in probate and prevent her from doi...
When selling an inherited home, how to make sure that the beneficiaries are taxed on the stepped up basis?
The cost basis at which the beneficiaries receive the property is the current fa...
He has half brothers and sisters and I would prefer his estate go to only one of his half brothers, as he is the only one who cares about his well being.
If intellectually disabled means that a person would not be found competent to p...








