ARCHIVED VIDEO STREAM

This is the archived version of a program presented on May 1, 2012.  This will not become available until 2 weeks after the orginal program date.  To order this format please click on the "REGISTER NOW" button.   

Family and Estates law often seem to act as two sides of the same coin. Family lawyers need to understand trusts and estates law when putting together separation agreements and estates lawyers need to consider family law rights and obligations when developing estate plans and conducting estate litigation. Experienced practitioners discuss practical strategies, updates in case law and legislation, and drafting tips for practitioners.

Program Chairs: Jane E. Martin, Dickson MacGregor Appell LLP
Bobbi M. Olsen, Ricketts, Harris LLP

9:00 amIntroductory Remarks

9:05 am. Practicing Post-Vanasse: What The Sudden Evolution of Cohabitation Claims Means for the Bar and Bench

• Has Vanasse v. Seguin/Kerr v. Baranow changed what lawyers and judges are seeing on a regular basis?
• What changes can family and estates lawyers anticipate in terms of what and how they practice?
• How to protect your client and your cohabitation agreement.

John Johnson, Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP - Ottawa (Counsel for Ms. Vanasse)
Subsequent Panel Discussion with
Moderator: Benjamin D. Arkin, Barrister and Solicitor
Panel: The Honourable Mr. Justice George Czutrin, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Kelly Jordan, Jordan Battista LLP

9:45 amSpousal Trusts, Directional Trust And Insurance Trusts

• Spousal trusts
• Advantages/disadvantages: spousal trusts versus joint partner trusts
• Has Bill 133 revived spousal trusts?
• Tainting the trust - common mistake
• Directionless trusts -- avoiding the negligence claim and best practices
• Insurance trusts, RESPs
• Do's and don'ts
• Separation agreements and death - expectation versus reality

Debra Stephens, Goddard & Associates

10:15 am Separation Agreements: Common Drafting Errors

• Insurance clauses
• Pension clauses
• Sale of matrimonial home and division of proceeds
• Dispute resolution (mediation/arbitration) clauses
• Material Change/variation clauses

Philip Epstein, QC, LSM, Epstein Cole LLP

11:00 am Break

11:15 am Mutual Wills, Contracts To Make Wills and Independent Legal Advice

• From the perspective of an estate planner and a family law lawyer, a conversation about the essential differences between mutual wills, agreements to make wills and reciprocal wills; and
• Independent legal advice: when it is essential, best practices for delivery of ILA

Mary MacGregor, Dickson MacGregor Appell LLP
Llana Nakonechny, Dickson MacGregor Appell LLP

11:45 am Marriage Contracts: The Conflicting Goals of Estates and Family Lawyers

• The obligations and priorities of the family practitioner
• Goals and concerns of the estates lawyer
• Practical solutions for mutually advantageous outcomes

Bryan R.G. Smith, Bastedo Stewart Smith

12:15 pm Registered Plans: What Estates and Family Practitioners and Judges Need To Know

• A summary of RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, RESP, RDSP, locked-in RRSPs and RRIFs
• Rollovers - what are they really - the difference between tax effect and actual property transfer; rolloverson marriage breakdown or death and rollovers involving mentally incapable individuals
• Estate processing

Ann Elise Alexander, Senior Counsel, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

12:45 pmQuestion Period