Should the mediator propose creative solutions?
January 20, 2023 By Brian Babcock There is no single simple answer to this FAQ. Mediation is rightly popular because in most disputes, the best result is one the parties agree to themselves. This applies especially to situations where the objective is about more than “who will pay how much?” But what happens if you […]
Do you need a digital forensic specialist?
August 18, 2022 By Brian Babcock The increasing prevalence of electronic communications brings with it a renewed focus on electronic discovery. Most parties and lawyers lack the expertise necessary to be confident that they will retrieve electronic documents completely in a form in which they are both unchanged and searchable. Even where the party may […]
Marriage, Separation, and Your Estate Plan
April 9, 2022 By Brian Babcock Are you married? About to be married? About to become separated or divorced? Already separated but not divorced? If you answer any of these questions “yes”, you need to be aware of changes to Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act that came into effect on January 1st 2022. Prior to […]
Is That Marriage Valid?
January 15, 2022 By Margaret Waddington You might think that in the 21st century, we no longer need worry about whether a marriage is valid – it seems like that question should be limited to an inconvenient plot point about a couple waking up in Vegas… oh, sorry, that was an episode of The Big […]
COVID-19 Vaccines and Parental Decision-making
November 1, 2021 By Margaret Waddington & Jessica Bevilacqua As COVID-19 vaccines rollout across Canada for those aged 12 and up, and with vaccination for children under 12 on the horizon, disputes between parents about vaccinating their children continue to increase. If a parent has been granted decision-making responsibility (previously known as custody), they have […]
What We Learned From Our First Zoom Trial
October 31, 2021 By Martha Petryshyn & Mark Lahn In early 2021, Weilers associate Martha Petryshyn conducted a five-day trial using the video conferencing software Zoom in the Ontario Court of Justice. Conducting an entire trial virtually was a new experience for the team here at Weilers. In this article, we would like to share […]
Waiver of Privilege Can Happen When You Least Expect It
October 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock Solicitor-client privilege is an important feature of our legal system. In order for you to have confidence to discuss your situations honestly with your lawyer, you want the assurance that what you say to them, and what they say to you, will remain confidential. Solicitor-client privilege has been called […]
Trusts, Gifts and Family Law
August 14, 2020 By Brian Babcock It is important to know whether a transfer of property within a family is intended to be a gift or to create a trust. In particular, this can have significant impact on division of property in family law. The recent Court of Appeal case of Kent v. Kent began as […]
Family Law 101: Dos and Do NOTs of Family Litigation for the Uninitiated
August 14, 2020 By Margaret Waddington Do: Start a calendar or journal. Keeping track of who had care of the kids and when or where different events happened as close to the time is occurred as possible means that your memory will be fresher and you will have a record of events to support your […]
What is a trust?
July 29, 2020 By Brian Babcock Every time I tell someone I will be teaching Trusts in January, I get the question back, “What is Trusts?” Since Trusts are an important part of everyday life, and not just for lawyers, I thought I ought to post an answer. The origins of trusts date back to before […]