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61932.14These authors offer a discussion on the costs decisions involved in recent estate litigation in Alberta, noting some interesting judicial commentary and trends. A main theme is that, to avoid client costs liability, practitioners must pause at every turn to consider whether a client’s position continues to be reasonable. Attached are valuable scenarios relating to various applications under the Surrogate Rules and the Wills and Succession Act. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.13The Wills and Succession Act introduced major changes to the law in Alberta relating to the courts’ authority to validate wills or gifts that would have failed under the former legislation, and to rectify errors. This paper examines the new legislation and some of the court decisions that have considered it, along with decisions from other provinces with similar legislation. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.11This paper discusses the nature and scope of an attorney’s duties under an enduring power of attorney acting for an incapable person, and also those of an agent under a personal directive in Alberta. It includes case law and legislative references, and provides practical advice for practitioners helping attorneys and agents with concerns relating to an incapable adult’s representatives and decision-makers. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.10The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act has been in force in Alberta for 5 years. In this paper, a member of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee provides an overview of what we have learned over those 5 years. The author looks at the application options available under the Act, and includes a few “takeaways” that practitioners can incorporate into their practices to master the application process, limit delay and obtain the orders clients want. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.09Inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear, these authors consider that the factual matrix of the play seems like a capacity litigation file gone horribly wrong. With that backdrop, the authors discuss when a capacity assessment can be compelled, the proper scope of the evidentiary record in capacity litigation and whether retrospective assessments are of any value. Precedent correspondence to an assessing doctor are attached. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.08Inter vivos asset transfers occur for a variety of reasons, ranging from legitimate wealth transfers to achieve an estate planning objective to transactions motivated by less noble objectives. This 36-page paper outlines some of the challenges available to spouses and other parties that take issue with these voluntary asset transfers. Specific topics include: the requirements of an inter vivos gift, issues surrounding the requisite intent, common law presumptions, undue influence and available challenges to a transfer. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.07This author provides a general overview of the limitation periods affecting wills and estates claims and actions. It is intended as a practical starting point and reference guide for practitioners working in this area. It offers guidance on general limitation periods, and those imposed under wills and estates legislation, augmented with supporting case law. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.06Prepared by an accountant/lawyer, the mandate of this paper is to help legal advisors better understand and advise settlors or trustees on how to properly deal with the 21 Year Rules. Specifically, the author discusses the policy underlying the Rules, explains their operation and describes some common strategies for dealing with them. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.05Bill C-43, which received royal assent on December 17, 2014, contains significant changes to the treatment of charitable donations made on death. Many of those changes will result in increased flexibility in allocating donation credits among various taxpayers and taxation years; but some changes are controversial, with wide-ranging impacts on post-mortem estate planning. This paper outlines the most relevant changes, examining their benefits and traps. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.04Prepared by an accountant, this paper provides a basic review of trusts and their taxation under the Income Tax Act. It then goes on to discuss the latest trust-related changes to the Act – changes that all trust and estate advisors must be aware of. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
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61932.03This two-paper set examines two different issues: when child support obligations become payable by a payor’s estate and the issue of when a potential payor can be said to have stood in the place of a parent in relation to a child. On the first issue, the author describes the leading authority, Burns v Burns, and examines the decisions that came after. On the second issue, he provides a short primer to be used to help lawyers in advising clients on what to consider when entering into a new relationship in which one of the parties is bringing children from a previous relationship. These papers are part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in April, 2015.
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61932.01This 2-paper set examines the debate raging around the issue of assisted suicide in Canada. The first paper, by Professor Schafer, focusses on the arguments for and against decriminalizing physician-assisted suicide, with reference to Lee Carter v AG of Canada. The author critiques the arguments on both sides of the debate and clarifies the ethical and legal issues. He presents the empirical evidence from the jurisdictions following a regulatory route and its relevance to the “slippery slope” argument. Bibliography attached. The second paper is by Kevin Diaz of Compassion & Choices, operating in Oregon. He discusses the Oregon experience since its Death with Dignity Act was enacted in 1997. Included are statistics on deaths under the Act, by year, and details on the requirements imposed under it. Case names referenced by the author are available on request but the cases themselves are not included with this paper for copyright reasons. These papers are part of a collection presented at LESA’s 48th Annual Refresher: Wills & Estates in 2015.
