Wills & Estates
Divisional Court allows appeal in Milne Estate (Re) decision
We are pleased to report that the Divisional Court has allowed the appeal and set aside the orders of the Application Judge in the Milne Estate (Re) decision. The Divisional Court did not in any way criticize the use of the allocation clause and in fact noted that “the use of allocation clauses is a… Read More »
Categories: Wills & EstatesLAWPRO Alert: Statement on Re Milne Estate decision
LAWPRO is aware of the Re Milne Estate decision and we confirm that it has been appealed. We expect the appeal won’t be heard for several months. We hope the appeal decision brings clarity to how primary and secondary wills should be drafted. Lawyers that have drafted wills that may be impacted by this decision… Read More »
Categories: Announcements, Wills & Estates, Risk Management Strategies, LAWPRO Errors and Omissions Coverage, Risk Management & Claims PreventionMalpractice claims regarding wills double in a decade
While wills and estates may never rival litigation or real estate as a risky practice area for lawyers, LAWPRO has seen the average annual number of wills claims double over the past 10 years. Growth in property values renders these errors more expensive and growing complexity in family structures, family law and tax law makes… Read More »
Categories: Biggest Claims Risks, Communication Errors, Wills & Estates, Areas of Law, Risk Management & Claims PreventionContingency planning for lawyers: Do you have a plan in place for your practice?
LAWPRO encourages lawyers to consider the impact that their unexpected death or incapacity would have on their practices, and to implement a plan to ensure that their clients continue to be served. The following article provides a good overview of issues lawyers should consider when making contingency plans. It originally appear in Hull & Hull… Read More »
Categories: Wills & Estates, Practice Aids, Law Practice ManagementPractice Pitfalls – Wills and Estates
In a previous issue of LAWPRO Magazine, we asked our claims counsel about what they feel are the biggest malpractice hazards in each area of law based on the claims files they work on every day. Here is an excerpt from that article urging lawyers to consider capacity when drafting a will. Click here to… Read More »
Categories: Wills & EstatesWant a challenge-proof will? Think like a (wannabe) beneficiary
As a lawyer, you have likely been trained to maintain a laser focus on your client’s interests and how to express and defend them. Being a fierce advocate is usually a good thing. But when preparing a will for a client, it can be a useful exercise, once you have a good first draft, to… Read More »
Categories: Wills & EstatesProofread that will!
There are not many guarantees in life, but this is one of them: If you proofread – properly – each and every will you create, you will substantially reduce your risk of a malpractice claim. Proofreading well is a highly underrated, non-universal skill. However, since lawyers proofread documents on a regular basis, most have a… Read More »
Categories: Wills & EstatesWhen preparing wills, don’t dispense with formalities – execution matters
Will-drafting is an area of legal practice that demands extremely careful attention to detail. Decisions in this area make it clear that even where a will is well-drafted and is consistent with the testator’s known intentions, failure to have the will executed in accordance with the applicable legal formalities will render it invalid. When that… Read More »
Categories: Wills & Estates