David Harris-Lowe, Associate, Family Law.
When you separate one of the things you should add to your bucket list is when to get a new Will. The real question is when and it may be sooner than you think depending the following and other considerations:
a) Are you married or were you living in…
Barrie Hayes, Partner, Family Law
There is a marked difference in the legal approach to quantifying support claims when a support payor is living as opposed to after a support payor has died.
In situations where the support payor is living the Divorce Act determines child and spousal support for married support payors and…
Separated but not yet divorced legal spouses should beware of the potential legal effect of a pre existing will which leaves the spouse’s estate to his now estranged wife.
In the recent case of Macarchuk v. Macarchuk the spouses were separated but not divorced. Prior to separation, the husband had made a will naming his…
In Ontario, where a person dies without a valid will, they are said to have died “intestate.” When a person dies intestate, the Ontario Succession Law Reform Act stipulates that the deceased’s spouse is entitled to a “preferential share” of his or her estate. Presently the preferential share is $200,000.00. As such, if the deceased’s…
Part 4 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) answers this question in the affirmative.
The SLRA provides that, in the event that a person dies, with or without a will, in circumstances where the deceased has not made adequate provision for the support of a dependent, the dependent may initiate a proceeding against the…
I am continually amazed at the number of clients I interview who tell me that they don’t have a will and never have had one. This situation can be disastrous for them. If they die without a will, they will have no say over how their estate is distributed or the guardianship and welfare of…
