Canada: Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning

Divorce is never easy, but in elite circles, the process carries unique factors and stress. Your finances and assets are more complex, your time is limited, and your privacy is essential.

A well-crafted estate plan addresses more than just your major assets, like real estate, corporate interests, and investment accounts. It can also encompass personal effects with both sentimental and financial value.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice examined whether a woman with diminished capacity required a court-appointed guardian to manage her substantial property holdings, or if less restrictive alternatives could protect her interests while preserving her autonomy. The case centered on balancing the state's duty to protect vulnerable persons against an individual's fundamental right to self-determination when making decisions about tens of millions of dollars in assets.

La récente décision rendue par la Cour supérieure du Québec Noël c. Birk (2026 QCCS 187) offre une leçon essentielle en matière de partage successoral lorsqu'une succession comprend des actifs enregistrés comme...

The recent Québec Superior Court decision in Noël c. Birk (2026 QCCS 187) provides valuable insights into the distribution of estates that include registered assets, such as registered retirement income funds ("RRIFs").

It is not uncommon for executors to make surprising discoveries when administering an estate. Occasionally, that surprise comes in the form of coins hidden in a testator’s home. When a will contains a gift of household contents to one beneficiary and a gift of the residue of the estate to another, an immediate and important question arises: who is entitled to the coins?

The British Columbia Court of Appeal's recent decision in Kroeger v. Bush Estate, 2026 BCCA 16, is a powerful reminder that a properly signed will is not always a valid will.

Canadian families are more global than ever and this trend will only continue.

An Attorney for Property has the "power to do on the incapable person's behalf anything in respect of property that the person could do if capable, except make a will," says subsection 31(1) of the Substitute Decisions Act (Ontario) ("SDA").