This presentation examines spousal support and child support obligations after death. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program on April 26, 2023 as part of our Estate Planning for Blended Families program.

Topics will include:

• Spousal trusts
• Spousal support and child support obligations after death
• Family home considerations, including Wills & Succession Act and Dower Act issues
• Advising clients with cohabitation agreements, property agreements, pre-nuptial agreements
• Enduring powers of attorney and personal directives
• Best practices for representing blended families

This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program on April 26, 2023.

Determining whether a client has capacity to retain and instruct counsel is an essential part of a lawyer’s professional responsibilities. This presentation explores the legal tests for (1) capacity to retain legal counsel, and (2) enforceability of a retainer agreement where the client’s capacity is at issue. This on-demand program was originally broadcasted as a live webinar on May 11, 2023. Total running time is 1 hour.

Explore in-depth issues relating to wills, estate planning, estate administration, and estate litigation. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program from April 30 to May 2, 2022. Each presentation in this program is available for individual purchase.

In this presentation, participants learn to identify challenging issues for attorneys, and explore a variety of outcomes and dispute resolution tactics for those issues. They will also discuss conflicting Power of Attorney documents and ethical considerations (such as financial institutions) for third parties. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program in January 2019.

Analyze common issues and identify practical resolutions when dealing with wills and enduring powers of attorney. Explore lapsed and failed gifts, resistant grantors, flawed EPAs, wills and Codicils, and non-compliant wills. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program in January 2019.

Review the fundamentals of estate litigation and court practice – from questioning, to applications, to trial. Analyze common issues, and discover practical litigation strategies. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program in April 2017.

In this presentation, Jennifer Lamb provides an overview of estate litigation by a discussion of forms, service and notice, procedure, pre and post-death litigation, the interplay of the Alberta Rules of Court and Surrogate Rules, and when a statement of claim is appropriate. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program in April 2017.

Solicitors are obliged to address capacity issues when helping a client make a will. The test for capacity articulated in Banks v Goodfellow works for most situations. But what happens in unusual cases? Can lawyers (or judges) rely on the Banks test? This paper provides a framework to deal with capacity issues in non-standard transactions, both in lawyers’ offices during estate planning and in court during litigation. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.

Estate litigation in Alberta involves navigating complex legal issues. This paper explores the role of the personal representative in managing estate disputes, provides insight into assessing the impact and advisability of litigation, and considers various factors that personal representatives and lawyers acting for interested parties should keep in mind when contemplating or continuing litigation. It also examines the use of estate caveats as a strategic tool in litigation and potential costs consequences of doing so. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.

The complexities surrounding the modern family are particularly fascinating from an estate planning perspective. One area where parties often have a lot of questions relates to child support and spousal support, and what happens when the payor dies. This paper addresses key legal principles when this occurs. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Estate Planning for Blended Families program in Edmonton on April 26, 2023.

This paper explores ethical and legal issues related to preparing, executing, and acting pursuant to a power of attorney. It discusses how to deal with a grantor resistant to having a power of attorney. It also provides considerations for lawyers when dealing with attorneys and financial institutions. Finally, the paper reviews recent Alberta case law dealing with power of attorney issues, highlighting some general principles that arise from the case law. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Wills & EPAs – Commonly Occurring Issues program in Edmonton on January 23, 2019 and in Calgary on January 30, 2019.

This paper discusses costs in estate litigation in Alberta. It first considers the general rules for costs in litigation, and then focuses on costs principles unique to estate litigation. It also reviews recent case law on estate litigation costs in Alberta. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Contentious Matters in Wills and Estates program in Edmonton on November 7, 2018 and in Calgary on November 15, 2018.  

This paper provides an overview of how contentious wills and estates matters are litigated in the courts. It includes a summary of the forms required by the court, and the service and notice requirements. It also discusses the interplay of the Alberta Rules of Court and the Surrogate Rules. The remainder of the paper is divided into two parts: pre-death litigation and post-death litigation. In the first part, the litigation processes relating to powers of attorney, personal directives, and applications under the Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act are discussed. In the second part, litigation involving joint ownership of assets, caveats, formal proof of a will, and applications under the Wills and Succession Act are considered. The paper includes a sample Application for Advice and Direction and to Remove a Personal Representative and a sample supporting Affidavit. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Estate Litigation Fundamentals program held in Edmonton on April 5, 2017 and in Calgary on April 12, 2017.