New and Notable - Wills and Estates

BCSC Releases Updated Consolidation of Registrar's Newsletter

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:05:00 GMT

The BC Supreme Court has released an updated consolidation of the Registrar’s Newsletter. The Registrar's Newsletter is "a Question and Answer resource that is used by District Registrars and Deputy District Registrars throughout the province to help clarify registry practice with respect to a number of provincial and federal statutes and the Supreme Court Civil and Family Rules."

This 110-page consolidated version is current to March 2012 and fully accounts for the new Supreme Court rules.

CLE Practice Point: Wills and Estates Refresher: Cocktail Party Questions

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:49:00 GMT

Written for the recent CLEBC course Civil Law for Criminal Lawyers, this paper looks at "some interesting (and sometimes bizarre) issues that arise at the intersection of criminal activity and wills and estates issues."

CLEBC Presentation "Executor and Trustee Compensation and Expenses" Available Online

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:31:00 GMT

Download the complimentary CLEBC webinar "Executor and Trustee Compensation and Expenses," presented by Fiona Hunter. This webinar was part of the Wills, Estates and Trusts Conference 2011: Estate Planning Update, held on November 2, 2011.

CLEBC Practice Points: Legislative and Case Law Update: WESA Highlights

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:11:00 GMT

CLEBC's Wills Estates and Trusts Practice Points has published Legislative and Case Law Update: WESA Highlights "The Times They Are a-Changin" by Gordon B. MacRae, QC and Andrea E. Frisby, both of Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers. In this paper, the authors discuss key practical changes that solicitors working in wills and succession may expect to encounter in their daily practice once the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (“WESA”) comes into force. The authors also explore the evolution of the law relating to the Fraudulent Conveyance Act and estate planning through the most recent BC Supreme Court decision, Easingwood v. Cockroft. Legislative and Case Law Update: WESA Highlights was written for the CLEBC course Wills, Esates & Trusts Conference 2011: Day 1, Estate Planning.

British Columbia Representation Act Distinguished at International Summit on Accessibility

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:00:00 GMT

The Representation Agreement Act of BC was selected as one of eight best policies in the world by disability experts and a scientific advisory panel of the World Future Council. The International Conference on Good Policies for Persons with Disabilities was held on January 22nd and 23rd in Vienna. Click here to read the press release.

New CCEL Report on Elder and Guardianship Mediation

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:00:00 GMT

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law Studies, a division of the British Columbia Law institute, has recently prepared a report entitled “Elder and Guardianship Mediation”.

The Elder and Guardianship Mediation Project arose from a recognition that the reform of adult guardianship and substitute decision-making legislation contained in the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007 (commonly referred to as “Bill 29”) would impact significantly on mediation practices involving older participants.

The Elder and Guardianship Mediation Project is aimed at developing informational resources to assist those engaged in elder and guardianship mediation at the level of practice, policy, research or legislation.

Project to Study Common-Law Tests of Capacity

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:55:00 GMT

Library Boy points us to the British Columbia Law Institute's large-scale project to study common-law tests of mental capacity. The project website states:

"There is no single, global test of capacity. Instead, the law has developed many different tests of capacity, each geared to specific types of transactions or relationships ... many areas of the law continue to rely on older common-law tests of capacity, which hold sway in contract law, wills-and-estates law, and family law, among other areas. This project’s goals are to study and illuminate selected common-law tests of capacity, to determine where the current law has shortcomings that require modernization or harmonization, and to recommend legislative reforms to address those shortcomings."

CLE Practice Points: Estate Litigation Potpourri

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:54:00 GMT

CLE Practice Points has published Estate Litigation Potpourri by Anna Laing. In this paper, the author discusses common law spouse claims, costs, production of solicitor's files in estate litigation, and Pecore.

Estate Litigation Potpourri was written for the CLEBC course Wills, Estates & Trusts Conference held in 2011.

Peri v. McCutcheon - BCCA Asked to Give Expanded Interpretation of the Meaning of “Children”

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:05:00 GMT

The question before the BC Court of Appeal was whether it should reconsider the limited meaning which has been attributed to the word “children” under s. 2 of the Wills Variation Act to include children who do not qualify as either natural or adopted children of the testator.

The Court had been asked to reconsider its decision in Hope v. Raeder Estate (1994), 2 B.C.L.R. (3d) 58 and, for that reason, a five-justice division was empanelled to hear the appeal.

Peri v. McCutcheon,2011 BCCA 401

New Public Guardian and Trustee Appointed

Courthouse Libraries of BC — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:30:00 GMT

Attorney General Shirley Bond announced that Catherine Romanko has been appointed public guardian and trustee of British Columbia.

The appointment was effective Oct. 10, 2011, for a six-year term. Romanko succeeds Jay Chalke, who served for 11 years.