Wills, Trusts & Estates
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February 19, 2025
The duty to account in trust reporting: A cautionary tale
Whether estate trustees or otherwise, all trustees have a duty to account to the beneficiaries on whose behalf a trust is being managed. That is to say, those vested with the power to manage property on behalf of others are obligated to provide to the beneficiaries an accounting of their dealings, particularly financial dealings, with the assets and liabilities of the trust or estate.
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February 14, 2025
Feds launch 2025 pre-budget consultations amid tariff uncertainty
The federal government has launched pre-budget consultations amid the looming threat of the U.S. potentially imposing tariffs on Canadian imports.
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February 12, 2025
U.S. estate tax under Trump
What can we expect to happen to U.S. estate tax now that Donald Trump has been inaugurated?
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February 11, 2025
Yukon’s Teslin Tlingit Council moves further towards establishing justice system
A First Nation in Yukon has taken another step towards having its own justice system after signing an agreement furthering the use of community-based “restorative measures.”
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February 10, 2025
C.J. Wagner says top court ‘exploring’ provision of mediation in cases where leave to appeal denied
Lawyers say they want to know specifics about the out-of-the-blue disclosure from Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner that he has asked his staff to “explore the possibility” of the top court providing “mediation” for litigants in cases where the apex court denies leave to appeal, and his suggestion that family law cases might lend themselves to a potential mediation initiative.
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February 10, 2025
Increasing regulations depressed economic and job growth, says StatCan study
In a new study on the potential impact of regulations on the economy, Statistics Canada has found that an increase in regulatory provisions from 2006 to 2021 was associated with a 1.7 percentage point reduction in gross domestic product growth and a 1.3 percentage point reduction in employment growth.
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February 07, 2025
Nova Scotia first to invite private firms to join public pension
Nova Scotia has become the first province in Canada to open its public service superannuation plan (PSSP) to private sector employers with the coming into force this week of the relevant legislation and regulations.
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February 06, 2025
Two new partners at Cohen Highley
Faisal Nasim and Joshua Laplante have become partners at Cohen Highley.
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February 05, 2025
Virani extols more diverse bench; says he’s working to get new wrongful conviction review body going
In contrast to the new U.S administration’s dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies targeting hiring biases against members of racialized and other underrepresented groups, the Trudeau government is doubling down on its commitment to diversity, with Justice Minister Arif Virani proudly extolling the federal Liberals’ record of appointing many “brilliant” women and racialized jurists to the federal trial and appellate benches.
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February 05, 2025
Removal of estate trustee in light of longstanding sibling rivalry affirmed on appeal
While parents may try to treat their children equally, it appears that the perception of favouritism may be inevitable. In January, 2025, both BBC and CBC reported on a new scientific study which suggests that parents really do have a favourite child based on a variety of factors, including birth order, gender, temperament and personality.