Is disinheriting your child for marrying outside the faith contrary to public policy?
As chair of B’nai Brith Canada’s Trusts & Estates Group I oversee the committee that chooses the subject matter and format of the continuing legal educational programs offered every year to the lawyers and accountants of our community. We choose topics that are relevant to the profession and to the Jewish community. This year we are examining whether a clause in a will that disinherits a child for marrying outside the faith is legal.
Is disinheriting Jewish?
Howard and Martha have two children, Sam and Laura. Sam is married to a Jewish woman; Laura is on the cusp of marrying a Christian man. Howard and Martha like Laura's fiancée, but are distraught about their family’s role in the continued existence of the Jewish people; they know that only 33 per cent of children from intermarried parents are raised as Jews. They remember our matriarch Sarah’s declaration that wicked Ishmael would not inherit, and our matriarch Rebecca’s arrangement excluding murderous Esau from his birthright, and they threaten to write Laura out of their will. I have been invited…
The Passing of Legislation Allowing for Trial of Those Accused of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
There may be as many as 1,000 Nazi War Criminals resident in Canada. Solicitor General Robert Kaplan helped focus public attention on the presence of suspected war criminals in the spring of 1980 when he met with the Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.
Cross-border issues: Israel and Canada
Ontario lawyers are increasingly establishing strategic alliances with Israeli attorneys to better serve their clients. Why? There are lots of reasons. Enforcement of Israeli court orders in Ontario, increased trade between the countries requiring cooperation between corporate and tax counsel, and families with members in both jurisdictions requiring cooperation in family law and estate disputes. Take this scenario for example. Stella lives with her son in her Toronto home. She bought an apartment in Jerusalem to be close to her daughter. She lives half the year in her Toronto home to be close to her son and half the year…
Being Sued in Ontario
Americans sued in Ontario are at risk. Sometimes these defendants ignore Ontario law suits because they have no assets in Canada. That may be unwise. Ontario courts, under certain circumstances, will assume jurisdiction and grant judgments against American defendants.
Enforcing Canadian Judgments in Israel
This article addresses the risks to Israelis being sued in Ontario, Canada. Sometimes there is a tendency for Israeli defendants to ignore Ontario lawsuits. Perhaps they feel judgment proof because they have no assets in Canada. That may be unwise.
Is disinheritence because of sexual orientation legal?
Will a Canadian court vary or set aside a will when a parent disinherits a gay/lesbian child because of his/her sexual orientation? The law may be different depending on the province.In Canada, the law balances the idea of testamentary independence against public policy concerns. While cherishing testamentary freedom, the law intervenes when it finds provisions in the will offensive to public policy and or equity. In Ontario, this restriction on testamentary freedom has been expressed by laws passed to protect spouses (under Part I of the Family Law Act) and dependants (under Parts II and V of the Succession Law Reform Act).