Hull On Estates

This week on Hull on Estates, Nadia Harasymowycz and David Smith discuss the subset of a dependent support claim, which is a claim that is advanced by an estranged spouse.  For more information on this topic, please see the article in the December issue of The Probater entitled “When is Dependant’s Support Paid to an Estranged Spouse?” by David Smith.

This week on Hull on Estates, Julia Evans and Craig Vander Zee discuss the upcoming New Year and what one can do in respect to estate plans, such as Wills and power of attorneys.

This week on Hull on Estates, Paul Trudelle and Rick Bickhram discuss a recent case out of the B.C. Supreme Court that applies the mutual Wills doctrine and discusses what Will be needed in order to find a mutual Wills agreement.

This week on Hull on Estates, Nadia Harasymowycz and Natalia Angelini discuss preparing for trial, specifically when doing a Will challenge.   If you have any comments, send us an email at or leave a comment on our blog.

This week on Hull on Estates, David Smith and Julia Evans discuss remedies for breach of fiduciary duty by attorneys for property acting on behalf of their incapable grantors. 

This week on Hull on Estates and Succession Planning, Craig and Rick discuss upcoming Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs over the next few months. Specifically, they discuss the upcoming annual on November 17 – 18, 2010.

This week on Hull on Estates, Paul Trudelle and Sharon Davis discuss two articles that discuss service via social media.  The two articles they discuss are:  ·          “” by Michael McKiernan. This article can be found in the October 25 edition of the . ·         “At Your Substituted Electronic Service” by Justice Cheryl Robertson and Alison McEwen.  If you have any comments, send us an email at or leave a comment on our blog.

This week on Hull on Estates, David Smith and Julia Evans discuss avoiding negligence claims in a Wills file, an issue that is top of mind for lawyers who draft Wills. Specifically, they chat about the landscape in this area and some things that may create problems.

This week on Hull on Estates, Paul Trudelle and Nadia Harasymowycz discuss the recent quarterly Hull & Hull breakfast seminar.  The topics discussed at the seminar include: •    Family matters and their relation to estates, specifically separations and divorce.  •    The effect of handwritten changes on wills.  •    Suicide notes and the effect they may have on the distribution on an estate

Today on Hull on Estates, Kathryn Pilikington and Craig Vander Zee discuss recent cases dealing with trust law. They also discuss the Trust, Trustees and Trusteeships conference on October 1, 2010 put on by the Ontario Bar Association. Specifically, they discuss the topics that were presented at the conference. These topics are: The Drafting of Trusts Hilary E. Laidlaw, McCarthy Tétrault LLP (author of paper) M. Elena Hoffstein, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (presented by) Considerations When Drafting Restricted Charitable Purpose Trusts Terrance S. Carter, Carters Professional Corporation - Orangeville Remedies for Breach of Trust Archie J. Rabinowitz, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP Drafting Trusts in Contemplation and Consideration of New Reproductive Technology Clare E. Burns, WeirFoulds LLP Trusts and Insolvency Frank Bennett, LSM, Bennett & Company Review and Analysis of Recent Trust Case Law Craig R. Vander Zee, Hull & Hull LLP If you have any comments, send us an email at hull.lawyers@g

This week on Hull on Estates, David M. Smith and Rick Bickhram discuss a recent decision out of the Superior Court of Justice, as well a high-level overview of the proceedings in passing of accounts.  

This week on Hull on Estates, Rick Bickhram and David Smith discuss forensic document examination and how it applies to the rules of evidence.

This week on Hull on Estates, Sharon Davis and Natalia Angelini discuss a recent requirement put into place by The Law Society of Upper Canada. On January 1, 2011 lawyers and paralegals will be required to put in 12 hours of continuing professionalism each year.   Specifically, there will be three hours delegated to topics relating to ethics, professionalism and practice management.

This week on Hull on Estates, David and Nadia discuss issues that arise surrounding the designation of beneficiaries under the Insurance Act and how they interact with provisions in testamentary documents. If you have any comments, send us an email at or leave a comment on our blog.  

This week on Hull on Estates, Kathryn Pilkington and Paul Trudelle discuss an article written by , with assistance from Anastasija Sumakova, entitled "Mission Impossible: Estate Planning and Assisted Human Reproduction", and the numerous estate planning issues that arise from assisted human reproduction.

This week on Hull on Estates, Suzana Popovic-Montag and Ian Hull discuss how estates are distributed and what the priorities in estate distribution are. If you have any comments, send us an email at or leave a comment on our blog.

This week on Hull on Estates Paul Trudelle and Rick Bickhram discuss the case of out of the British Columbia Court of Appeal.  The issues examined are timing, fulfillment of conditions under court orders and how this case is relevant to others in similar situations.  

This week on Hull on Estates, David Smith and Rick Bickhram discuss rules 40 through 45 of the rules of Civil Procedures, which deal with the preservation of rights in pending litigation and the nature of these remedies in the estates context. If you have any comments, send us an email at or leave a comment on our blog.

This week on Hull on Estates Chris Graham and Natalia Angelini discuss how to pursue recovery when one thinks that a trustee or fiduciary has absconded with funds. If you have any comments, send us an email at hull.lawyers@gmail.com or leave a comment on our blog.  

This week on Hull on Estates, Craig Vander Zee and Nadia Harasymowycz discuss orders giving directions in the context of a will challenge. A will challenge offers an opportunity at the beginning of a case to assemble the evidence and consider how it will be dealt with going forward. Things to consider include: ·         Is mediation required? ·         What evidence is known? ·         What evidence needs to be obtained? ·         How is that all going to happen? There are also factors to be considered at the beginning such as projected costs and the value of the estate either known to be or thought to be.