2019

The recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision in Bellefeuille v Bellefeuille, 2018 ONSC 6802, provides useful guidance as to the circumstances in which a court may terminate an individual’s power of attorney and is an important reminder that simply substituting one’s own decision-making analysis over another’s finances is not what the law expects of an attorney for property. It is much more.

The Supreme Court of Canada rendered the Moore v Sweet decision on November 23, 2018.1 The Hon. Madam Justice Côté delivered the judgement, with Wagner C.J., Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Brown, and Martin JJ. concurring.

In Rikhye v. Rikhye, Justice Bloom addresses the question of whether a non-party may be allowed to attend a cross-examination as a moral support person for an alleged victim of elder abuse.

John Hollander, a litigator with McBride Bond Christian LLP, looks at the issues elderly trustees face when undertaking substantial trust responsibilities; specifically examining how lawyers should advise such clients and how lawyers should advise beneficiaries when the elderly trustee appears not to be discharging the duties of the office.

Lawyers working with older adults may be asked to advise clients on the protocol for consenting to a physician’s disclosure of information. Genevieve Giroday of Giroday Law looks at the rules surrounding the release of personal health information.

Bed-blocker and silver tsunami are more than words talking about people who can’t leave hospital for reasons other than acute care needs, or the catastrophic effect retiring baby boomers will have on the economy – they’re emblematic of a societal lack of respect and regard for the elderly. Words hurt people and they have a carry-through effect on the treatment those people receive.

When is undue influence being exerted on a person drafting a will? It can be hard to tell whether the drafter had “testamentary capacity” at the time. Kimberly Whaley looks at a case in point, and notes red flags to watch out for.

Pierre Deschamps, C.M., Ad.E., offers up his interpretation of the “historic” Supreme Court decision in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General).

Heather Hogan, of Whaley Estate Litigation, reviews the Supreme Court of Canada decision to dismiss, with costs, the application for leave to appeal the decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Lorintt v. Boda.