Wills, Trusts & Estates
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July 16, 2025
Prepare for change: The plain language legal writing standard is coming
What lawyer has not heard that legal writing should be clear and concise? Everyone wants legal documents to be straightforward, client-oriented and “crisp.” Yet, cryptic memoranda, wordy submissions, legalese-filled judgments and insurmountable walls of text in contracts and policies remain common. Even with clarity in mind, writing clearly is hard without knowing the rules to guide the process.
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July 15, 2025
Home sweet home? Legal, practical guide to LTC vs. retirement homes
As individuals get older, the idea of transitioning to a long-term care home or retirement home becomes relevant depending on the circumstances of the individual. This article will dive into the differences between long-term care and retirement homes and the legal perspectives of such.
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July 14, 2025
Federal Court judge strikes SRL’s submission in employment dispute over AI hallucination citation
In another sign of AI’s growing impact on the law, the Federal Court has ordered that a self-represented respondent’s motion record be removed from a court file because it relied in part on a non-existent court decision hallucinated by an artificial intelligence (AI) research tool.
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July 14, 2025
FINTRAC publishes updates to its guidance on ministerial directive on Iran
Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog has updated its existing guidance related to the federal government’s ministerial directive on financial transactions associated with Iran.
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July 11, 2025
FINTRAC flags rising use of dual-use goods, cryptocurrencies in weapons proliferation
Canada’s financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC, is warning that foreign actors are increasingly targeting Canadian dual-use goods and turning to cryptocurrencies in efforts to acquire resources and information to build weapons of mass destruction and evade counter-proliferation controls.
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July 09, 2025
From duty to liability: The evolution of trustee responsibility in Ontario courts
The recent case of MacBeth Estate from the Ontario Court of Appeal (MacBeth Estate v. MacBeth, 2025 ONCA 360) is a reminder of the personal liability that estate trustees may be exposed to if their actions warrant it — and an example of how the court will address estate disputes where there has been a breakdown in trust between the estate trustee and a beneficiary.
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July 08, 2025
Field Law names Farha Salim as new managing partner
Field Law has announced that Farha Salim will assume the role of the firm’s managing partner for a three-year term that began on July 1, 2025.
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July 04, 2025
McCarthy Tétrault adds two partners to support new charities and non-profits group
McCarthy Tétrault has welcomed Robert Hayhoe and Nicole D’Aoust as partners in its new Charities and Non-Profits Group, part of its National Tax Group.
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July 04, 2025
Reclaiming the role of executor: When can a renunciation be rescinded?
In the world of estate administration, the term “renunciation” has a very specific meaning — as noted in the most recent edition of Macdonell, Sheard and Hull on Probate Practice, renunciation refers to a “formal act … whereby an executor having a right to a grant of probate or a person having a right to a grant of administration renounces such right.” In Ontario, s. 34 of the Estates Act also confirms that the rights of executorship will “wholly cease” if a person renounces probate of a will.
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July 03, 2025
N.B. to consult public on changes to property tax system
New Brunswick’s government wants input from its residents on a future overhaul of the province’s property tax system — a revamp that will focus on transparency and stability in the face of “substantial increases” in property values.