When a person dies, their estate may require a probate. Probate is the process to get formal approval of the appointment of the estate trustee through a court application. The estate pays estate administration tax in order to get a Certificate of Appointment of the...
Wills & Power of Attorney
Tattoos, Copyrights, The Prime Minister, and Estate Planning
When preparing your will it is important to consider what assets you own and what you have the ability to leave to your heirs. While not the first thing to come to mind when considering your assets, if you own a copyright over something, these rights can be left to...
Are Wills and Powers of Attorney an Essential Service?
As COVID-19 has taken over the world, it may have left you thinking about your Estate. Do you have a Will, do you need to update your Will, do you have Powers of Attorney in place? For information, check out our blog post on the difference between Wills and Powers of...
Marley v Salga and the Impact of Severing Joint Tenancy Though a Will – Written by Zachary Thiffault
Property can be held as joint tenants or tenants in common and this will determine how the property is divided when one party dies. Under joint tenancy, when one person dies the survivor automatically becomes the owner of the whole property. However, tenants in common...
Children Conceived After Death and Inheritance – Written by Zachary Thiffault
The laws governing inheritance are among the oldest elements of the common law system, and as with most areas of law, meshing these centuries old standards with modern realities is a slow process. Questions of inheritance are impacted by many factors; is there a Will,...
What Happens When You Log Out For The Last Time? -Written by Zachary Thiffault
For better or worse, social media has become a key way in which we express ourselves, sharing our joys, accomplishments, and grief. With kids, parents, grandparents, and yes even great-grandparents (Hi Grandma Babs!) using social media sites like Facebook and...
Can I Draft My Own Will?!?!
There is a well-known case that is read by most law students during law school which relates to hand written Wills also known as Holograph Wills. In 1948, Cecil Geo Harris, as Saskatchewan farmer, was pinned underneath his tractor. While he was trapped, he used a...
You Won’t Be-Leaf This Case!
Boundary line disputes are common in the realm of Real Estate law and the case of Allen v. MacDougall, 2019 is no exception. The parties shared something in common, a tree that straddled the boundary line of their adjoining lands. The Forestry Act states “every tree...
Stuart v Stuart, 2019 ONSC
Interpreting a Will can be tricky. Certain words, phrases or clauses can be interpreted differently by different people and sometimes the Court needs to step in to provide the proper interpretation of same. In the case of Stuart v Stuart, the Court was asked to assist...
Differences Between Power of Attorneys and Wills
A Power of Attorney and a Will are two essential documents that are complimentary to each other. A Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby an adult person (Donor) gives another party the legal authority to act on their behalf in order to manage legal and...

