Wills, Trusts & Estates

  • May 06, 2026

    Exit on your terms succession planning for family business owners

    For many family businesses, especially those built across generations, the business is more than an asset. It represents decades of effort, risk-taking, and personal investment, which forms part of the family’s identity and legacy. Many family businesses are passed down among generations, with the ownership and management of such businesses often governed by family shareholder agreements. Yet, other family businesses may lack a clear succession plan when the next generation is not willing or capable of stepping into an owner-manager role.

  • May 06, 2026

    When AI and intellectual property threaten estate planning: Practical strategies

    By now, it should be abundantly clear that modern estate planning — particularly for clients with intellectual property — is less “tidy will and testament” and more “multidimensional chess played against the future.” The good news? There are strategies. The less-good news? They require actual planning.

  • May 05, 2026

    Former SCC justice Louise Arbour named Canada’s next governor general

    Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour will become Canada’s next governor general. Arbour will become the first former judge of the top court to take on the vice-regal role.

  • May 04, 2026

    The confluence of AI, intellectual property and estate planning: Preventing calamity

    If part one of this three-part series (see below for link) was the amuse-bouche, this second article is the main course — served with a side of existential dread and a garnish of legal ambiguity. Welcome to the confluence of artificial intelligence, digital replicas and personality rights, where estate planning gets delightfully thorny and occasionally surreal.

  • May 01, 2026

    Bar says it ‘likely’ will appeal B.C. ruling that lawyer independence doesn’t require self-regulation

    Heralding a significant shift in the Canadian legal landscape, the British Columbia Supreme Court has rejected the legal profession’s constitutional challenge to the B.C. Legal Professions Act — legislation that would end more than 150 years of lawyer self-governance and self-regulation by benchers elected from the provincial bar.

  • April 30, 2026

    The confluence of AI, intellectual property and estate planning: What could go wrong?

    Death, as it turns out, is not the end of the revenue stream. If anything, it may be the beginning of a particularly vigorous second act. Consider the perennial earners on Forbes’ list of highest-paid dead celebrities: Michael Jackson still moonwalks to the bank, Dr. Seuss continues to rhyme his way into licensing deals, Richard Wright and Syd Barrett echo through classic rock royalties, and the Notorious B.I.G. remains, well, notorious — and profitable. The moral? Mortality is inevitable; monetization, apparently, is optional but highly recommended.

  • April 30, 2026

    WILLS - Preparation and execution - Attestation - Undue influence, fraud and mistake

    Appeal by appellants (Bryan and Amadai) from a judgment dismissing their application challenging the validity of a May 19, 2022, will (the Fourth Will) said to be executed by the deceased, Reka, and from a costs order requiring each party to bear their own costs. Acting on an earlier will, Bryan applied for a certificate of appointment and collected a life insurance payout.

  • April 29, 2026

    Andrea Stevanovik joins Langlois as tax lawyer

    Langlois has added Andrea Stevanovik as a lawyer in its business law group.

  • April 28, 2026

    Ottawa’s economic update proposes apprentice wage subsidies, tax & criminal changes to build ‘Canada Strong’

    The Carney government says it plans to make it a criminal offence to operate a cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) and that it will push ahead with controversial amendments to enable “law enforcement” to search and seize mail.

  • April 28, 2026

    Typography for lawyers

    In my last article, I wrote about visualization in law. But visualization is not limited to diagrams or tables. Text itself is visual, and its organization can improve reader engagement and comprehension. This is typography.