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September 03, 2025
The Court of Appeal for Ontario’s recent decision in Metske v. Metske, 2025 ONCA 418 provides an important lesson to farming families and their professional advisers: good intentions and family loyalty, while laudable, are no substitute for clear, enforceable agreements. The decision narrows the scope of proprietary estoppel in the agricultural context and underlines the commercial reality that a succession plan must be both documented and financially achievable.
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September 02, 2025
As Manitoba’s law society takes stock of its most recent fiscal year, the regulator’s new president aims to continue the work of minding lawyers’ well-being as part of a new strategic plan. Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) president Kyle Dear recently sat down with Law360 Canada to discuss the recent release of the law society’s 2025 annual report — a 31-page snapshot of the regulator’s latest fiscal year, which ran from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
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August 27, 2025
O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers LLP has added two trust and estate lawyers: Josh Cohen and Namratha Sankar.
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August 26, 2025
Despite the recent market decline in Ontario, the high cost of real estate often pushes families to join together to fund down payments. In such circumstances, the legal consequences of commingling family funds may blur the lines between generosity and expectation.
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August 25, 2025
Ontario’s administrative tribunals are facing increased scrutiny by the courts for unfairness in dismissing claims brought by tenants, landlords, employees, car accident victims and people who believe they have experienced discrimination or are seeking disability benefits.
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August 22, 2025
For individuals benefitting from the payment of royalties, it is not uncommon for those payments to continue after death, which gives rise to considerations in the estate planning and estate administration contexts. The most prominent example in recent years may be that of Michael Jackson, recognized by Forbes as the highest-paid dead celebrity in 2024 and in several years prior — royalties earned from MJ: The Musical alone certainly bolstered the bottom line.
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August 21, 2025
Canada’s 1,198 federally appointed judges should get a substantial lump sum salary increase — $28,000 — as their pay package is no longer enough to attract “outstanding” private bar lawyers to the bench, says the federal Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission, echoing warnings made by federal judicial leaders over the past few years.
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August 20, 2025
Appeal by Erich from order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Robert had four children, Kyle, Brian, Renee and Ronald. Brian and Renee predeceased Robert. Ronald was not a party to the appeal. Erich was Brian’s son. Robert and Erich had a strained relationship.
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August 19, 2025
Recently enacted legislation requires additional reporting of beneficial ownership for private company shares, including as regards shareholders that are trusts. In order to comply, one criterion to determine is whether an ownership interest has sufficient value to be reported, an area where the legal rules combine with business valuation principles to arrive at the correct reporting position.
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August 14, 2025
State bar leaders across the U.S. are wrestling with whether to stand firm on their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or quietly rework programs and language as they face rising political pressure and potential legal challenges.
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August 14, 2025
We all procrastinate by delaying or putting off tasks. Contrary to popular perception, it’s caused by fear or anxiety, or as a way to cope with unpleasant emotions, not laziness or indolence.
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August 13, 2025
Pour-over will clauses are a popular estate planning tool in the United States — when included in a will, they “pour” part of the estate, usually the residue, into an existing inter vivos trust. Despite their popularity south of the border, pour-over clauses are not recognized as valid in much of Canada.
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August 13, 2025
Shareholders’ agreements often include restrictions on the shareholder’s ability to transfer their shares without the approval of other shareholders. This is particularly common in the case of owner-managed and closely held corporations, where the shareholders are keen on preventing unwanted third parties from acquiring shares of the corporation. Shareholders’ agreements for these types of corporations therefore tend to limit the persons to whom, and circumstances under which, shares may be transferred.
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August 12, 2025
In what one lawyer describes as a “turning point” for global aviation safety,” the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a trial judge’s finding that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) was negligent in allowing Flight PS752 to depart Tehran on Jan. 8, 2020, confirming the airline faces unlimited liability under the 1999 Montreal Convention for the deaths of all 176 people on board when the aircraft was shot down by Iranian missiles.
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August 12, 2025
Yukon has brought into force legislative changes allowing residents to officially designate a power of attorney without having to hire a lawyer.
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August 11, 2025
“This is the fight of our lifetime,” said American Bar Association (ABA) president William Bay while receiving the Ontario Bar Association’s (OBA) President’s Award on behalf of American lawyers on Aug. 7. The award comes as the ABA has launched a lawsuit against the United States federal government for allegedly using its powers to coerce lawyers and law firms to abandon clients, causes and policy positions President Donald Trump opposes.
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August 08, 2025
Chief justices are pointing to newly disclosed data about private bar lawyers’ rising incomes and declining appointments to the bench to bolster the judiciary’s contention that inadequate judicial compensation and onerous job demands are deterring “outstanding” lawyers from seeking federal judicial appointments.
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August 08, 2025
Nova Scotia’s law society is using a new guidebook to warn members against becoming over-reliant on artificial intelligence in their practices — and urging them to heed instances where lawyers ended up in hot water over its misuse.
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August 08, 2025
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) has issued a public expression of concern regarding Federal Court Justice Negar Azmudeh for failing to disclose an ongoing workplace harassment investigation during her judicial application process.
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August 05, 2025
A review panel of the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) has issued a public reprimand to Justice Andrew J. Goodman of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for his failure to promptly correct a significant sentencing error, concluding that his 14-month delay in addressing the mistake constituted “injudicious conduct” that undermined public confidence in the administration of justice.
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August 07, 2025
In a decision offering guidance on multiple legal issues, an Ontario Superior Court judge has awarded summary judgment of nearly $291,000 to the estate of a deceased lender in a case involving two unpaid promissory notes, while rejecting attempts to hold a corporate executive personally liable for the debts.
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August 07, 2025
It may sound surprising, but under British Columbia’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), it is indeed possible for someone to have more than one legal “spouse,” at least for the purpose of dividing an estate when there’s no will.
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August 06, 2025
Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog has published its comprehensive supervisory framework and unveiled a more streamlined administrative monetary penalties policy.
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August 05, 2025
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that the estate of a deceased federal inmate cannot claim damages for the government’s retrospective removal of early parole, which was found to be a violation of the Charter right not to be punished twice for the same offence.
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August 01, 2025
Meagan MacArthur has joined McKenzie Lake Lawyers as an associate in its wills, estates and trusts group at the London, Ont., office.