Wills, Trusts & Estates
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January 22, 2025
Federal Court of Appeal: RRSP transfer to widow exempt from tax debt clawback
The transfer of an RRSP from a deceased husband to his widow is not subject to a provision of the Income Tax Act allowing the Crown to collect unpaid tax debts from spouses or common-law partners, the Federal Court of Appeal has held.
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January 22, 2025
Traditional values v. contemporary justice: Court varies gender-biased will that favoured son
In 2021, Ginny Lam discovered that her mother’s will significantly favoured her older brother, William Law. Yat Hei Law bequeathed $2.9 million to William and left Lam only $170,000. Lam felt that Yat Hei’s preferential treatment of William in her will was profoundly unjust. Lam successfully applied to the B.C. Supreme Court to have her mother’s will varied.
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January 20, 2025
Saskatchewan regulator lists upcoming events on estates, AI, family law
The Law Society of Saskatchewan has published a roundup of upcoming events — one being mediation training sessions for lawyers and another being the Canadian Bar Association Saskatchewan’s mid-winter conference.
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January 16, 2025
Blakes partner roster expands
Blakes has named Allan Morgan, Rodney Perkins, Brittany Shamess, Christina Sutcliffe, Daniel Szirmak and Annika Wang as new partners.
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January 16, 2025
Ontario’s top wills & estates cases of 2024
As we usher in 2025 and bid adieu to 2024, it’s an excellent time to reflect on how the law evolved over the last year. For wills and estates practitioners, 2024 was an especially eventful year.
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January 15, 2025
Blakes announces new partners in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver
Claire Hildebrand, Jean-Simon Lamarre, Rachel Lehman, Fraser Malcolm, Sophie Mansfield and Mike Maodus have been made partners at Blakes.
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January 14, 2025
New partners at Blakes
Michael Barrett, Rochelle Collette, Rebecca Dawe, John Fast Catherine Gagné and Marc-Philippe Gagnon have been made partners at Blakes.
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January 14, 2025
N.L. Appeal Court examines offer to settle in estate case
Trial judges must look at offers to settle put forth by litigants with “real precision” before making their findings, says a lawyer in a case involving kids fighting over their late father’s estate.
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January 14, 2025
Common estate planning myths: Can I give my estate to my dog?
Because of the absolute importance of ensuring our clients’ final wishes will be properly carried out, and their loved ones properly cared for, estate planning lawyers approach their work with an almost unparalleled level of seriousness and gravity, often leaving very little room for humour to intrude.
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January 09, 2025
Federal government announces various changes to Canada Pension Plan now in effect
The federal government has announced various changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) that became effective as of Jan. 1, including a new benefit relating to students who are children of contributors that are disabled or deceased, a death benefit top-up and new rules for survivors’ pension entitlement.