Can a Suicide Note be a Will?
May 13, 2022 By Brian Babcock IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE ARE EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND MAY BE SUICIDAL, SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IMMEDIATELY. HEALTH ISSUES ARE BEYOND OUR SCOPE OF WORK, AND EVEN THE BEST LEGAL HELP IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN YOUR HEALTH. The short answer is “yes it can”, which is a […]
Taking Arbitration Clauses Seriously
May 13, 2022 By Brian Babcock Until now, arbitration clauses in your commercial contract have likely been one of those “boilerplate” provisions tucked away deep into the document, drafted by a lawyer but largely ignored by the clients. If you have not been giving the arbitration clause serious thought until now, it is time to […]
A Trustee’s Discretion is Not Absolute
May 8, 2022 By Brian Babcock Unfortunately, family members do not always get along, and this may affect the administration of your estate. What happens if this leads to trustees of your estate abusing their power? The traditional approach to reviewing duty of a discretionary trustee is to consider whether and when they should exercise […]
Not Every Good Cause is a Charitable Purpose
May 8, 2022 By Brian Babcock Charitable trusts are major exceptions to the rule that a trust must have a person or persons as beneficiaries. A charitable trust also receives favourable tax treatment, and is exempt from rules about accumulating income or holding property in perpetuity. We have discussed purpose trusts generally before, but a […]
Watch Out for Loose Connections
April 29, 2022 By Brian Babcock Lending agreements, and in particular guarantees, which come with their own subset of rules, need to be carefully drafted. Even sophisticated parties may find themselves in expensive and risky lawsuits if the language is not precise. Intercap Equity Inc. v. Bellman illustrates this risk and provides a degree of […]
What Does “Litigation is Not a Tea Party” Mean?
April 29, 2022 By Brian Babcock Famously, “litigation is not a tea party”, meaning that the participants can expect a tough fight. This is limited by various rules, particularly those that enforce honesty, and try to prevent judges from being misled. Failure to immediately disclose an agreement between parties to a lawsuit that converts their […]
When Is A Second Discovery Necessary?
April 24, 2022 By Brian Babcock Oral examinations for discovery out of court are a long established means of preventing “trial by ambush” under Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure. In most cases, each party is allowed to examine the others once, with time limits that may be extended where appropriate. Each person examined must correct […]
When Can a Taxpayer Enforce a By-Law?
April 24, 2022 By Mark Mikulasik You might not be aware that section 440 of Ontario’s Municipal Act provides that: If any by-law of a municipality or by-law of a local board of a municipality under this or any other Act is contravened, in addition to any other remedy and to any penalty imposed by […]
Affidavits Are Serious Business
April 24, 2022 By Brian Babcock An affidavit is a written (usually typed) document that is sworn under oath or affirmed as being true before a commissioner of oaths or notary public. They are used in a variety of contexts to prove facts – ranging from proof of identity, to forming part of a construction […]
The Working for Workers Act
April 24, 2022 By Brian Babcock Most of the Working for Workers Act, 2021 is now law in Ontario. How might it affect your business or organization, or your life as a worker? This Act amends several existing laws that affect the workplace, most particularly the Employment Standards Act. In a nutshell, the significant changes […]