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August 26, 2026
The law relating to deposits in real estate transactions has always been critically crucial. It becomes a focal point when any real estate transaction collapses. When the deal falls apart, the tussle begins: who gets the deposit — buyer or seller?
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August 25, 2026
I recently read an article about the Gottman Institute’s famous “Four Horsemen” — four patterns of behaviour that relationship researchers have identified as powerful warning signs of marital breakdown: criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling.
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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.
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August 20, 2026
The Federal Court says it is facing a significant number of constitutional challenges to new restrictions on asylum claims that were enacted March 26, 2026 by Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act. As a result, Federal Court Chief Justice Alan Diner, who last month succeeded Paul Crampton as the leader of the national trial court, issued a “practice direction and special order” on Aug. 20.
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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.
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August 19, 2026
Every family lawyer has heard some version of the same instruction from a client: “Just ask the kids who they want to live with.”
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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.
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August 17, 2026
Every so often, a judge stops writing like a judge and starts writing like a person who has run out of patience.
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August 14, 2026
A certificate of pending litigation (CPL) is issued under the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. c.43 (CJA) by the court in which an interest in land is in question (s. 103(1) of the CJA).
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August 14, 2026
Appeal by appellant (Wife) from a decision setting aside a separation agreement (agreement). The parties, former spouses, negotiated and executed an agreement in 2016 with assistance from a consultant and a family lawyer.
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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.
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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.
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August 12, 2026
According to an announcement from the office of Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser, Linda A. Maj, K.C., general counsel at the Department of Justice Canada in Edmonton, has been named a justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.
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August 12, 2026
Suddenly, the concept of coercive control is reshaping Canadian family law. Coercive control is beginning to influence how courts approach financial claims, property disputes, settlement negotiations and even the procedural rules governing when a motion may be heard.
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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?
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August 12, 2026
Most family law disputes are resolved without the need for a trial. Carter v. Carter, 2026 ONCA 29 was a stark exception — a high-conflict matter spanning over 15 years and marked by more than 97 endorsements and court orders, primarily issued against the husband for his serious, deliberate and flagrant misconduct.
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August 11, 2026
A prominent legal institute has released a pair of reports showing wide support for the use of protection orders in Ontario, but also raising major concerns about how the current system works.
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August 11, 2026
The modern spouse who scrolls through a partner’s phone at 2 a.m. isn’t usually pondering the finer points of the Criminal Code. They are thinking of one thing: “I need to know the truth.”
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August 07, 2026
British Columbia’s provincial court has unveiled a new practice direction.
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August 07, 2026
“My Face ID is registered on your phone.” It sounds like the ultimate modern romantic gesture, doesn’t it? Right up there with sharing your Netflix password or letting them see you in your most un-Instagrammable sweatpants. But let’s be clear: sharing a biometric key is not a blanket invitation to conduct a forensic audit of your partner’s digital life.
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August 07, 2026
A recent British Columbia decision, Kohut v. Yagelinski, 2026 BCSC 714, concerned the judicial review of a family arbitration award arising from a “last best offer” arbitration. The case presented an unusual challenge for both the court and the parties because the arbitrator provided no written reasons, leaving the court with no decision to review.
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August 06, 2026
The Ontario land titles registry was designed to promote certainty and reliability in real estate transactions. A potential buyer is generally entitled to rely on what is reflected in the registered title (known as the “mirror principle”) and, unless they have notice of competing claims, they should be able to acquire title without investigating past dealings or private disputes that may exist behind the registered ownership (known as the “curtain principle”).
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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.
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August 05, 2026
Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner Anton Boegman has issued guidance about when “licensed legal professionals” are required to register their work for foreign principals as “influence activities” in the new public foreign influence registry. The new commissioner issued five interpretation bulletins — including one specifically for lawyers — to give guidance on how to comply with the obligations under the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA) and its regulations, which came into force Aug. 4.
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August 05, 2026
After years of watching perfectly rational adults succumb to what can only be described as a collective delusion, it’s time someone called out the elephant in the room — the one wearing a designer gown and posing for a photographer who costs more per hour than most people earn in a week. We need to talk about marriage.