Wills & Estates
Recent changes to wills, powers of attorney and succession law
The government has enacted 4 important changes regarding wills, powers of attorney (POAs) and to the administration of an estate with Bill 245 – Accelerating Access to Justice Act, 2021 which received Royal Assent on April 19, 2021. (See amendments in Schedule 8 – Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 and Schedule 9 – Succession Law Reform… Read More »
Categories: 2022 June - After Covid 19, Articles, Failure to Know The Law, Wills & EstatesTips for Wills & Estates Lawyers (2022)
Learn from leading wills and estates lawyers and LAWPRO counsel about practice trends and tips for success
Categories: CPD, Wills & EstatesWhen You Get a Call About a Will You Drafted… What Is Your Next Step?
You’re sitting at your desk on a typical weekday afternoon when, out of the blue, you get a call related to a will file. As soon as this happens, be wary. Your first instinct may be to try to help. But calls around wills you’ve prepared raise issues around confidentiality and privilege. Trying to recall… Read More »
Categories: LAWPRO policy, Online Only, Wills & EstatesHow to lessen your risk of a malpractice claim when virtually witnessing wills and powers of attorney
[Updated April 24, 2020] As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 7, 2020 the Government of Ontario released an emergency Order temporarily allowing the virtual execution of wills and powers of attorney by means of “audio-visual communication technology” as of that date. On April 22, 2020, a new emergency order was… Read More »
Categories: Online Only, Wills & EstatesAvailability of insurance coverage for lawyers acting as executor or trustee
Estate lawyers will sometimes be called upon by a client to act as executor or trustee as part of their Professional Services. Depending on the complexity of the estate or trust, these appointments can last for years and involve a substantial time investment. As with other aspects of a legal practice, alleged errors in the… Read More »
Categories: LAWPRO policy, Online Only, Wills & EstatesLandmines for Lawyers When Drafting Wills
When it comes to mistakes and claims, the Achilles heel for lawyers in the wills and estates area is drafting wills: Making will-drafting errors – either because of poor communication, inadequate discovery or errors in law – is the single most common issue in claims reported in this area of law. In many cases, the… Read More »
Categories: Articles, Communications Errors, Failure to Know The Law, Inadequate Investigation, Wills & EstatesDivisional Court allows appeal in Milne Estate (Re) decision
We are pleased to report that the Divisional Court has allowed the appeal and set aside the orders of the Application Judge in the Milne Estate (Re) decision. The Divisional Court did not in any way criticize the use of the allocation clause and in fact noted that “the use of allocation clauses is a… Read More »
Categories: Webzine, Wills & EstatesStatement on Re Milne Estate decision
LAWPRO is aware of the Re Milne Estate decision and we confirm that it has been appealed. We expect the appeal won’t be heard for several months. We hope the appeal decision brings clarity to how primary and secondary wills should be drafted. Lawyers that have drafted wills that may be impacted by this decision… Read More »
Categories: Alerts, Wills & EstatesWills & Estates Malpractice Claims Fact Sheet
Malpractice claims in wills and estates practice have increased steadily over the last decade, nearly doubling in frequency. Communications issues (often at the time the will is drafted) are the biggest source of these claims. Too many lawyers are not truly listening to the client’s instructions and not probing and questioning the client to uncover… Read More »
Categories: Factsheets, Wills & EstatesRepairing errors to head off claims
Timely efforts by LawPRO to “repair” errors committed by lawyers save the Ontario bar millions of dollars every year. To preserve these repair opportunities, lawyers should contact us as soon as it becomes clear that a mistake may have been made on a file. LawPRO successfully argues for rectification of a will provision A multi-million… Read More »
Categories: 2017 May - 2016 Annual Review, Articles, Civil Litigation, Errors & Omissions, Wills & Estates, Year in Review