Family
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July 18, 2025
Registered accounts: Designating beneficiaries
Individuals in Ontario may designate beneficiaries for their registered accounts — such as TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs and FHSAs (see Part III of the Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 (SLRA)). This designation ensures that, upon the account holder’s death, the proceeds are paid directly to the named beneficiary, thereby bypassing the estate. This not only avoids estate administration tax on those funds, but also often allows for a quicker distribution to the designated beneficiaries as well as regarding RRSPs and RIFFs creditor protection.
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July 18, 2025
Navigating AI in legal practice: Responsibilities, risks and realities, part two
We all know that AI has many upsides, and it’s taking the legal profession by storm. We also know that it must be used with caution. In the first segment of this three-part series, we took a look at some key initial concerns that can arise in connection with lawyers’ use of AI in their legal practices. These touched on legal ethics and potential bias, and how using AI can impact a lawyer’s professional responsibility obligations.
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July 18, 2025
Relational vs. transactional: Why Canada continues to fail at implementing Indigenous rights
There is a fundamental difference in worldview that continues to undermine the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Crown in Canada — a difference that can be summarized as relational versus transactional. This tension lies at the heart of the ongoing failure to fully implement treaties, recognize Indigenous legal orders, or give meaningful effect to constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights.
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July 17, 2025
Wide-open-door policy ‘is not how we roll,’ Federal Court of Appeal judge tells would-be interveners
The Federal Court of Appeal’s senior puisne judge says those applying to intervene at the national intermediate appellate court should ask themselves whether their presence “will advance our work.”
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July 17, 2025
Forms of beneficial ownership: Inheriting gifts as joint tenants, tenants in common
When property is held by more than one person, beneficial ownership takes one of two forms — joint tenancy or tenancy in common. These forms of beneficial ownership also apply when a will leaves a testamentary gift to multiple beneficiaries, regardless of whether the will expressly addresses the intended form of joint ownership. If a will is silent on this point, the form of beneficial ownership will simply be determined through legal presumptions.
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July 17, 2025
The Friendly Bar Series, No. 5: What is a Friendly Bar without a Friendly Bench?
Not long ago, I sat in court as an observer and witnessed what many lawyers quietly know but seldom say aloud: family law litigation can be harrowing, not only for litigants but for the professionals entrusted to guide them.
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July 16, 2025
Unique family law issues: Parents with disabled children
Some years ago, I was engaged in a case where the family had a severely disabled eight-year-old daughter. The daughter was born with multiple health issues and required both home and community support. The matrimonial home had been retrofitted to meet the needs of her wheelchair and other devices necessary to meet her health issues.
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July 16, 2025
The judge’s pen is mightier than the sword
The phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword” was written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his 1839 play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy. The pen is mighty powerful indeed; however, it never fails to amaze me how kind and gentle the bench can be when writing decisions concerning the behaviour of bad parents.
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July 16, 2025
View from inside prison: Opening the box
I’m not a person who is hugely attached to things. I have no trouble throwing out or giving away old clothes or furniture or even books. But I do tend to hang on to reminders of my past life, such as letters and pictures.
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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.