19 February 2019 TAGS: Estates Our will registry keeps your information confidential We're launching the Canada Will Registry this Spring. We've designed it in a way that keeps your data confidential and we've obtained a legal opinion from a leading Canadian law firm confirming that estate practitioners have the implicit consent of their clients to register their wills with us.
28 January 2019 TAGS: Estates It's official: wills are not trusts The Divisional Court has resolved the recent confusion caused by the conflicting Milne and Panda decisions about the validity of certain wills containing "basket clauses".
16 January 2019 TAGS: Case Law Case Brief: Determining the purchase price of a business In Muchmaker Estate (Re), 2019 ONSC 59, the court had to interpret a provision in the deceased's secondary will for determining the purchase price of his business, among other issues.
17 December 2018 TAGS: Company Updates Introducing the Canada Will Registry NoticeConnect is launching the Canada Will Registry in 2019. We're building on our Knowledge of a Will notices to solve the problem of identifying missing or competing wills.
26 November 2018 TAGS: Company Updates Our estate notice matching system The NoticeConnect Creditor Dashboard is a tool that alerts you when an estate notice to creditors matches one of your receivables.
15 November 2018 TAGS: Case Law Case Brief: What happens when burial arrangements are contested? In Miller v Miller, 2018 ONSC 6625 the children of the deceased strongly disagreed over where their mother should be buried until an estate trustee could be appointed by the court.
26 October 2018 TAGS: Company Updates New Features This weekend we're adding two new features that will make it easier for lawyers and firms to post legal notices with NoticeConnect. We are always improving and refining our products in response to user feedback.
13 September 2018 TAGS: Case Law Case Brief: When is a will invalid? In Milne Estate (Re), 2018 ONSC 4174, the Superior Court answers the question: Is a will that grants the executors the discretion to determine what property is subject to the will a valid will?
24 August 2018 TAGS: Case Law What happens when a beneficiary can't be found? If a beneficiary can't be found, when is it appropriate to assume they've died? The Superior Court of Justice considered this issue in Steele v. Smith, 2018 ONSC 4601 and granted a motion declaring that a missing beneficiary had died before the testator.
18 July 2018 TAGS: Discussion Three Reasons Why Alberta Needs Online Notices to Claimants NoticeConnect makes it easy and inexpensive for estate trustees to advertise for creditors by letting them post notices online rather than in print papers. Our court-approved platform is now the standard practice in Ontario. Can estate practitioners in Alberta use us too?.
9 July 2018 TAGS: Case Law Court Approval: One year later Today marks exactly one year since the Superior Court confirmed in a written decision that publishing a notice to creditors on NoticeConnect satisfies the Trustee Act.
18 June 2018 TAGS: Case Law How long do surviving spouses have to choose between the FLA and SLRA regimes? In Aquilina v Aquilina (2018 ONSC 3607), S.F. Dunphy J. explains when it is appropriate to extend the statutory deadline by which a surviving spouse must elect between equalization under the Family Law Act vs the Succession Law Reform Act.
29 May 2018 TAGS: Estates Partnership Announcement NoticeConnect is thrilled to announce our partnership with Do Process Software to integrate NoticeConnect with their award-winning program, Estate-a-Base®.
23 May 2018 TAGS: Estates Four Ways to Find out if the Deceased had a Will When it comes to administering an estate, it makes a big difference if someone dies with a will or without a will. But how do you actually know if the deceased had a will? And if you find one, how do you know it's the most recent?
16 May 2018 TAGS: Statutes Public Notice Solutions for Government We've launched a tool for governments, using the technology behind NoticeConnect, to make public notices more accessible and economical.
15 May 2018 TAGS: Case Law Case Brief: Koster v. Koster, 2018 ONSC 2321 George Koster died in 2014 at the age of 94. George's nieces and nephews brought an application challenging the validity of George's will on the grounds that George's mistress-turned-wife, Elizabeth, had unduly influence George.
14 May 2018 TAGS: Estates Which estate trustees should advertise for creditors? Every estate trustee should advertise for creditors on NoticeConnect to protect themselves from liability. If an estate trustee fails to advertise for creditors, they can be held liable for the full amount of the deceased's outstanding debts.
11 May 2018 TAGS: Company Updates We're at the CCLA East Region Solicitors Conference NoticeConnect is at the County of Carleton Law Association's 24th East Region Solicitors Conference, as a sponsor and as the subject of one of this year's presentations.
7 May 2018 TAGS: Collections What's the difference between a Notice to Creditors and a Death Notice? This is a common question. While Death Notices and Notices to Creditors are both published after someone dies, they're quite distinct. Knowing the difference can help you collect outstanding receivables. Below are four differences between these two types of notice.
2 May 2018 TAGS: Executors What happens if someone doesn't want to be an estate trustee? Many people consider it an honour to be the estate trustee for a friend or family member - a privilege reserved for a special, trusted person. But being an estate trustee isn't easy. It's a massive time-consuming responsibility that should not be taken on lightly.
1 May 2018 TAGS: Estates Key Considerations When Administering Insolvent Estates Estate trustees have an ongoing fiduciary obligation to pay all estate debts in full, which means that trustees handling insolvent or bankrupt estates must be extra cautious when administering the estate.
27 April 2018 TAGS: Estates Estate law horror stories: the unruly trustee Many testators provide clear direction on the administration of their assets and appoint trusted and responsible friends or family members as their estate trustees. But there are many instances where these individuals ignore their fiduciary duties to the testator’s estate, with disastrous results.
25 April 2018 TAGS: Estates Three situations where an estate trustee should retain a lawyer It's always a good idea for an estate trustee to retain a lawyer. Estates and trust litigation is a complex area of law, and making mistakes can mean personal liability.
23 April 2018 TAGS: Estates Five Things Estate Trustees Should Do Right Away The estate trustee is the person who is primarily responsible for the administration of the estate. They have a fiduciary duty to hold the estate in trust for the beneficiaries unless a contrary intention is expressly provided in the will.
20 April 2018 TAGS: Company Updates "Estate Law 2.0" Event Recap Thank you to everyone who came out last night to Estate Law 2.0, our joint CPD event with Lexis Nexis Canada.
