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January 19, 2026
2025 marked significant updates in estate litigation, introducing key reforms for practitioners. Changes to Estate Forms under Rules 74, 74.1 and 75 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which took effect mid-August to simplify probate applications, will remain active into 2026. A notable Ontario Superior Court ruling in Mavalwala Estate v. Fast, 2025 ONSC 4100 confirmed that only physically executed wills are valid, and that electronic drafts are not valid. There have also been discussions regarding the changes to the Rules, which started in 2025 and will be implemented in 2026.
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January 19, 2026
B.C.’s top court has ruled the province’s so-called “foreign buyer’s tax” for certain real estate sales is payable on the whole transaction when any transferee is a foreign entity or taxable trustee.
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January 19, 2026
Appeal by appellant from a chambers decision declaring the respondent to be Somers’ adult interdependent partner at the time of his death. The respondent applied for the declaration under the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act (AIRA), that she was the adult interdependent partner of the deceased and therefore entitled to apply for support and maintenance from his estate.
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January 16, 2026
The Supreme Court of Canada began hearings in its very busy winter session this week, which features a potentially watershed constitutional appeal and the surprise announcement that Justice Sheilah Martin, the court’s senior western judge, will retire next spring.
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January 16, 2026
In my last article for Law360 Canada, I provided an overview of the Ontario Civil Rules Review (CRR), its Working Group and the Working Group’s final policy report (the Report), which called for, among other things, two reforms to the pre-trial process. That article explored the following reforms:
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January 15, 2026
I have taught professionalism for years, starting at the old Bar Admission course, at two law schools and on an ad hoc basis to articling students and juniors. I tell all of them same thing on the first day: everything you need to know about professional responsibility can be summed up in two sentences.
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January 14, 2026
The Federal Court has approved a settlement under which two minors whose mother died in a boating collision will each receive about $100,000 in damages, resolving claims against the owners and operators of the vessels for loss of guidance, care and companionship, and loss of dependency and services.
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January 13, 2026
Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheilah Martin, a former University of Calgary law dean and one of the apex court’s criminal and constitutional law experts, will retire May 30, 2026, after working at the high court for more than eight years.
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January 13, 2026
Hopefully you have started the year in style by signing your will. You’ve chosen a trusted executor, protected your hard-earned assets for your children and provided for the people you care about most.
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January 09, 2026
The Government of Canada offered various forms of financial support for individuals and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. For individuals, the most common were the Canada Emergency Recovery Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). CERB was implemented near the beginning of the pandemic, while CRB was initiated later as a longer-term form of support.
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January 09, 2026
Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josée Hogue is retiring Feb. 1, 2026, from her full-time job on the federal bench — one day before starting work on Feb. 2 as deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general of Canada, Law360 Canada has learned.
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January 08, 2026
Clark Wilson lawyers Dan W. Melnick, David Bowden and Sunny Chiu have joined the firm’s partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
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January 08, 2026
Around this time last year, we wrote an article speculating on what to expect for U.S. estate tax under a second Trump administration. With the decrease to about half the current amount of the lifetime exclusion amount set to occur early this year unless new legislation was passed, it looked like 2025 would need to be a major year for U.S. estate tax reform.
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January 06, 2026
Parlee McLaws LLP has announced that Guy Valle has joined the firm’s partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
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January 06, 2026
The Civil Rules Review (CRR) was launched in 2024 as a joint initiative of the chief justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the province’s Attorney General. The CRR’s mandate was to propose wholesale reforms to the Rules of Civil Procedure (the Rules), which were last overhauled in 1985, so that the civil justice system is more accessible and to reduce costs and delays.
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December 24, 2025
Law360 Canada will be on a publishing hiatus from Dec. 25, 2025, to Jan. 2, 2026. We wish you a happy holiday and all the best for the new year.
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December 23, 2025
A prominent lawyers’ group in Prince Edward Island is calling the launch of the province’s first community legal clinic “an important advancement in access to justice” — particularly for those facing barriers to certain types of civil justice.
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December 17, 2025
Appeal by the appellant from a chambers judge’s order declaring that two electronic communications from the deceased were fully effective to alter her will by removing the appellant as a beneficiary. The deceased sent a text and an email to her executrix expressing her intention to redo her will and remove the appellant as a beneficiary.
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December 16, 2025
Ottawa has imposed sanctions against four Iranian senior officials who the federal government says “have been involved in gross and systematic human rights violations” in the Islamic Republic of Iran where they “have had a significant role in facilitating and directing repressive policies.”
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December 15, 2025
In Ontario, estate disputes often erupt where families least expect them. At first glance, wills can appear all in order, assets may be simple, and relationships may seem calm … until someone who depended on the deceased person realizes they have not been adequately provided for. At that point, even the simplest will can be challenged through something called a “dependent support claim,” a process under Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) that is quite important to understand in Ontario.
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December 12, 2025
One of the hallmarks of Ontario’s estate planning regime is testamentary freedom. It gives individuals, when drafting and executing their wills and estate plans, the ability to distribute their assets in the manner they see fit.
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December 12, 2025
As 2025 comes to an end and everyone attends their holiday parties, let’s prepare for the challenges that will be faced by legal professionals in the upcoming year. Here are a few that come to mind:
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December 12, 2025
Appeal by Lee Everett Stuart (Lee) from application judge’s decision. Vernon Sanford (Mr. Sanford) passed away. Following his death, two versions of his will were discovered: an unexecuted copy dated 2002, and an executed will, dated May 5, 2006.
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December 11, 2025
Stewart McKelvey will welcome three lawyers to the partnership effective Jan. 1, 2026, according to the Atlantic Canada-based firm.
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December 11, 2025
When issues arise in litigation that involve specialized knowledge, technical expertise or scientific understanding, it is relatively common for the parties to submit expert evidence to assist the court with making its determinations. Expert evidence may be admissible on a wide range of issues — even specialized legal issues — so long as the evidence is proffered by a properly qualified expert, is relevant and necessary, and is not barred by an exclusionary rule.