Family Law

Read Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning updates, articles, and legal commentary from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 21, 2013

Ontario Budget 2013 – More Pension Reform to Come

by Lesha Van Der Bij | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/3/2013

In today’s budget, the Ontario government announced that it is continuing with its pension reform agenda, but it is not all “old news”. Perhaps of most interest to employers and plan administrators will be the government’s...more

Carrigan Case: Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Leave to Appeal

by Douglas Rienzo | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 3/29/2013

This morning, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application for leave to appeal in Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate. As a result, the Ontario Court of Appeal’s new interpretation of the priority scheme for the payment of...more

B.C.’s New Family Law Act and Division of Pension Rules Now in Force

by Lawson Lundell LLP on 3/18/2013

The new Family Law Act (“FLA”) came into force today, March 18, 2013. It replaces and repeals the Family Relations Act (“FRA”). The FLA carries forward the basic structure established under the FRA, with some fine tuning to...more

Long Time Separation Does Not Equal Divorce

by Angela Bohmann | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Employee... on 3/14/2013

Most employers know that a married participant in a qualified retirement plan must name a spouse as beneficiary for at least a portion of the benefit unless the spouse signs a notarized written consent or the spouse cannot be...more

No Divorce from Spouse #1? Common Law Spouse #2 Not Entitled to Pre-Retirement Death Benefits

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 11/2/2012

In the recent case of Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate, the Ontario Court of Appeal has effectively re-written the law on pre-retirement death benefits under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (the PBA)....more

Turbervilles Private Client Newsletter - Winter 2011

by Turbervilles on 11/25/2011

Welcome to our Winter Newsletter. In this edition, we report on why people are starting to record their internet and computer passwords in their wills. A woman injured while having her hair coloured in a salon is...more

Succession: Is Keeping the Business in the Family Necessarily the Best Course?

by Ronald Adams on 9/2/2011

Whether you should transfer ownership of the family business to your offspring may depend on your needs and the ability of your company, after the transfer, to support two families...more

Turbervilles Private Client Newsletter - Autumn 2011

by Turbervilles on 8/23/2011

Welcome to our autumn newsletter. In this edition, we are pleased to tell you about how Turbervilles has been awarded the Law Society’s prestigious Conveyancing Quality Mark, meaning that the high standards of our...more

Turbervilles Private Client Newsletter - Summer 2011

by Turbervilles on 7/20/2011

Welcome to our Summer Private Client Newsletter. In this edition, we see why divorcing couples must consider mediation before being allowed to go to court. There’s a warning from the Ombudsman that people should...more

Ten Planning Issues to Prepare a Business for Sale

by Ronald Adams on 7/13/2011

The following ten planning issues will help prepare the business for sale and reduce unanticipated problems that may arise when a prospective buyer begins investigating the business for possible purchase. Regardless of...more

Business Owners – Is Now the Time to Sell?

by Ronald Adams on 7/1/2011

As business revenues and values have declined over the past number of years, many owners delayed the possible departure from their business through retirement or sale, either waiting for things to get better, or as result of...more