August 27, 2026
After the death of the testator, it is sometimes the case that a party asserts that the testator’s will contains a mistake that does not reflect the testamentary intentions of the deceased. In Ontario, in certain limited circumstances, the court can “fix” the will by employing the legal doctrine of rectification.
August 27, 2026
As AI-generated court filings by self-represented litigants proliferate, appellate counsel should read trial transcripts that are ostensibly “certified” more closely than ever and do so earlier in the appeal process as they might be AI-created fakes, advises a senior family law practitioner.
August 24, 2026
A $28,000 lump sum salary boost recommended for Canada’s 1,200 judges last year would have cost Ottawa almost $321 million over six years had the government not rejected the advice from an independent judicial pay commission, the Carney government asserts in defending a novel lawsuit launched by the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association (CSCJA) and the Association of Federal Court Associate Judges.
August 21, 2026
WeirFoulds LLP has welcomed Andreea Muth as a partner in its wills, trusts and estates practice group.
August 19, 2026
The growing burdens that generative AI misuse in court is imposing on lawyers, litigants and courts are illustrated by a recent Nova Scotia Court of Appeal judgment that threw out a self-represented litigant’s appeal following his use of uncertified AI-generated trial transcripts containing multiple inaccuracies that opposing counsel identified through vigilant verification.
August 18, 2026
Quebec’s top court has ordered a self-represented family law appellant to pay $1,000 to his ex-wife plus her legal costs on the appeal, following his “deliberate” citation in court of ChatGPT-generated fake case law, including fictitious quotations.
August 13, 2026
In Ontario family law, the date on which a spouse receives a gift or inheritance from a third party (usually a parent or relative), whether before or after the date of marriage, may have a significant impact on their net family property and ultimately the size of the equalization payment owed to the other spouse on marital separation.
August 12, 2026
Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Geneviève Cotnam, who once recalled “my career as a lawyer didn’t always provide a smooth sailing to the bench,” is Quebec's new top judge, succeeding Quebec Court of Appeal Chief Justice Manon Savard who became a part-time (supernumerary) judge on Aug. 10.
August 12, 2026
Estate trustees and beneficiaries can often be faced with estate disputes that include complex commercial issues. A litigation lawyer may be needed to assist clients through these thorny and complex issues. For example, what happens when a prudent estate freeze triggers an intense family fallout, resulting in oppression remedies, wrongful dismissal claims, or derivative actions? How should an executor manage the multifaceted responsibilities of serving as an officer or director of the deceased’s business, especially when facing allegations of mismanagement or delaying a sale, while also drawing compensation?
August 06, 2026
A complex and challenging area of law is the intersection of trust law and family law. Ontario law, in contrast to many other common law jurisdictions, has given liberal treatment of a discretionary interest in a trust as property, which can be subject to equalization under our family law legislation. See our prior articles on this subject: Property division and discretionary trusts: Half of nothing is still nothing; and Heads Up: Grappling with Family Law’s Treatment of Discretionary Trust Interests.