While there have been past efforts to integrate new technology, the Court has been primarily structured around people and paper. However, in response to recent government efforts to enforce social distancing and ‘flatten the curve’, the Court has embraced technological solutions, including holding hearings by videoconference and expanding its capacity to accept electronic filing of […]
by Rob Levesque The COVID 19 pandemic is affecting all Canadians, forcing us to change our ordinary way of doing things. Social distancing and self-isolation have quickly become the new normal, as we collectively take steps to slow the spread of the virus. For those of us who are stuck at home, it can feel like […]
by Mitchell Rattner Attorneys for property and estate trustees have a legal obligation to maintain complete and accurate accounts of the transactions which they undertake in the course of performing their duties. Passing of accounts refers to the process of obtaining the Court’s approval of the accounts. In 2016, and again, in 2018, the Ontario Court […]
by Robin Spurr Schnurr Kirsh Oelbaum Tator LLP is proud to once again be recognized by Lexpert as being leaders in the field of estates. Felice Kirsh and Sender Tator have been ranked as leading practitioners in the area of estate litigation, and Jordan Oelbaum has been ranked as a leading practitioner in the area of […]
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin is suing his two children and his business manager for improperly taking control of his finances, using his funds for their own benefit, and defaming him by stating publicly that he suffers from dementia. This lawsuit was brought in response to a guardianship application commenced by Aldrin’s two children. Regardless […]
by Robin Spurr The recent case of Newlands Estate v. Newlands Estate highlights the need for proportionality in litigation, and the expensive consequences if you are not. The case centred around a painting that belonged to the father, which all the parties agreed was worth $30,000. $30,000 is nothing to sneeze at, but when it comes to litigation […]
by Mitchell Rattner Last November was the Ontario Bar Association’s “Make a Will Month”, and I spoke at Barbara Frum Library about the benefits of having a will. While a will is an important and effective tool for directing how your property is to be distributed following your death, powers of attorney enable you to authorize […]
by Robin Spurr One of the questions we hear most often as estate litigators is “will I get my legal costs back?”. It is very common in litigation for one party or both parties to feel that the litigation would have been unnecessary but for the actions of the other party, and at the end of […]
by Matthew Rendely On Monday, May 1, 2017, the Honourable Douglas K. Gray of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario held in the case of Henry Koziarski, as Estate Trustee of the Estate of Jadwiga Koziarski v Jesse Sullivan, 2017 ONSC 2704, that Jesse Sullivan (“Jesse”) did not fall under the class of “issue” as defined in […]
by Robin Spurr Robin Spurr recently presented at the Ontario Bar Association’s program entitled “Managing Family Conflicts in Estate Administration”. The following is Robin’s commentary on the mutual will doctrine and how it was applied in two recent decisions; Rammage v. Roussel Estate and Lavoie v. Trudel. The doctrine of mutual wills is not widely understood and is often […]