Commercial and Estate Litigation Blog

Distribution of estate by an Estate Trustee During Litigation

Is it appropriate for a court order to permit an Estate Trustee During Litigation (“ETDL”) to distribute the Estate? Possibly. The statutory authority to appoint the ETDL is found in Section 28 of the Estates Act, which provides that an ETDL has all the rights and powers of a general administrator, other than the right of distributing the residue of the property. Generally, an ETDL is appointed when the court feels a neutral third party should be administering an estate to preserve estate assets.

Read more

Who will have custody of your children?

Is it up to you who will have custody of your children after your death? Not necessarily. In a lecture about Halachic Wills, Rabbi Moshe Taub spoke about a young Catholic woman who converted to Judaism. She did not have a will, so no one was appointed as guardian of her child. While it was natural that the maternal grandparents applied for custody, the prospect of this child being raised as a Catholic was the antithesis of what the mother wanted. What ensued was a battle to keep that Jewish child within the fold. How might this have been avoided?

Read more

Who Will Have Custody of Your Children?

Is it up to you who will have custody of your children after your death? Not necessarily. In a lecture about Halachic Wills Rabbi Moshe Taub spoke about a young Catholic woman who converted to Judaism. She did not have a will so no one was appointed as guardian of her child. While it was natural that the maternal grandparents applied for custody, the prospect of this child being raised as a Catholic was the antithesis of what the mother wanted. What ensued was a battle to keep that Jewish child within the fold. How might his have been avoided?

Read more

Court Ordered Withdrawal of Notice of Objection

Clients are sometimes understandably frustrated when the cost of defending a bogus claim is greater than settling. I want to share a story about one case where an aggressively creative motion addressed this concern.In this unreported case, the Applicant filed a Notice of Objection and commenced proceedings seeking support under Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26. The Deceased was not biologically related to the Applicant and was not receiving any financial or emotional support prior to the testator’s demise.

Read more

Limitation Period Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet is intended as a quick reference guide for estate litigators dealing with limitation periods. For a comprehensive review of this topic I refer the reader to articles written by senior members of the bar I have found very useful which I believe are worthwhile to review.

Read more

Primer for Accountants on Amended EAT

Amendments to the Estate Administration Tax Act raises the question whether an accountant’s advice leading to a “false statement” by the client constitutes “assists in making” and puts the accountant at risk. To that end it is prudent for accountants to be doubly vigilant in documenting the advice provided whereby the accountant explains the importance of proper disclosure.

Read more
Back To Top