Part 1 The Ontario Court of Appeal in Leonard v. Zychowicz, a decision released in March of 2022 outlined the cost and difficulty of successfully attacking a Will. As an example of the incredible expense and time involved in such an attack, this was an appeal decided two years after the original final order (made […]
Read More
Categories:
REMOVING AN EXECUTOR AKA AN ESTATE TRUSTEE
Removing an executor also known as an estate trustee is a difficult mountain to climb and we have touched upon the law surrounding that issue in other blog articles. I refer one to our recent blog article on Walters v. Walters titled An Absolute Discretion. This website also features two other blog articles titled Applying […]
Read MoreA CAUTIONARY TALE WHEN OPENING UP AN ONLINE INVESTMENT ACCOUNT
Increasingly with our online world, our clients are taking advantage of opening up online stock trading accounts. Wishing to save the fees charged by normal investment and brokerage houses, parties are taking advantage of offers of almost minimal commissions offered by companies such as Questrade. It is crucial that when couples open up such an […]
Read MoreJOINT TENANTS vs TENANTS-IN-COMMON
There is no more basic yet more misunderstood term in real estate than the difference between joint tenancy vs. tenants-in-common. These are the two most common methods for multiple people or companies owning a single property. There is a vast difference between the two, despite the similarities in their names. Joint tenancy or Joint Tenants […]
Read MoreAn Absolute Discretion Does Not Mean Whatever You Want Aka Limits On What An Executor Can Do
In early 2022, the Ontario Court of Appeal released an important decision titled Walters vs. Walters Estate. The case is a family tale of disharmony. Unusually, this case was not about a second marriage. In this case the Mother died, survived by her husband of 60 years and two adult sons. The sons and father […]
Read MoreTWO STATUTES TO CONSIDER
Some statutory considerations for setting aside a gift a.k.a. actual legislation and not judge made law, are set out below. There are a number of actual Statues that have a serious effect on gifts and their validity, and we summarize two of them as follows. 1. Fraudulent Conveyances Act. If a gift is given with […]
Read MorePRESUMPTION OF UNDUE INFLUENCE HOW TO DEFEAT THE PRESUMPTION ESSENTIALS OF A FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP
We have elsewhere in our blog articles talked about these issues, but the presumption of undue influence is an important consideration for both Wills and gift-giving. The presumption comes up in cases where the potential for domination inhibits the relationship between the transferor and the transferee. In other words, from the person giving to the […]
Read MoreSTART WITH NO ONE GETS ANYTHING FOR NOTHING HOW DO I PROVE IT REALLY WAS MEANT TO BE A GIFT?
We have already touched elsewhere on the concept of the presumption of resulting trust. There is an old English legal maxim “equity assumes bargains and not gifts”. In essence, no one gets anything for nothing as the starting point for all actions in life. At one point, there was no such presumption attaching to gifts […]
Read MoreWHAT IS A GIFT MAHAR and GIFTS
We have already posted several blog articles on the issue of when is a gift not a gift. This even extends to the concept of beneficiary designations and while we will not repeat those concerns, we recommend those blog articles to our faithful readers. The 3 PARTS OF A GIFT As stated elsewhere, we know […]
Read MoreBuying & Selling a Business – Share Purchase/Sale vs. Asset Purchase/Sale
The number one item to consider when purchasing or selling a business is whether the transaction should be structured as an asset or share purchase/sale. Although both accomplish the same task of completing the transaction and transferring ownership in the business, they can have different consequences for both prospective buyers and sellers. An asset sale […]
Read More
