On February 22, 2013, the British Columbia Law Institute published a Consultation Paper on Common-Law Tests of Capacity. 

As set out in the BCLI press release:

The consultation paper examines legislative reforms to judge-made rules governing when a person is determined to have the mental capacity to carry ...

Werbenuk v. Werbenuk Estate, 2010 BCSC 1678, is a clear example that a parent cannot disinherit children on the basis of gender.

William Werbenuck died on March 3, 2008 and was aged 86 years old. He left behind a son, Randall, and four daughters, Patricia, Lorraine, Carrie and Virginia ...

Estate planning in British Columbia may involve structuring the affairs of a client to avoid potential claim by a spouse or child under the Wills Variation Act, RSBC 1996, c 490. This legislation permits spouses, common-law spouses, and children, including independent adult children, to make a claim varying the ...

Traditionally, courts have held the view that the level of capacity required to marry is relatively low.  An English case decided in 1885, Durham v Durham, L.R. 10 P.D. 80 provides a quote which has continued to be cited with approval by Canadian cases over the years: “the ...

The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in April in Fundy Settlement v. Canada, 2012 SCC 14, holding that the residence of a trust under the Income Tax Act, Canada, is the place where the central management and control of the trust is exercised. This will not ...

Enduring Powers of Attorney, Representation Agreements v. Advance Directives, Statutory Capacity, Certificates of Incapacity, the Health Care (Consent) And Care Facility (Admission) Act…

Yes, you'd better believe you're the intended market for the February 2012 edition of BarTalk (volume 24, issue 1)—assuming you have a wills, estates and trusts practice of ...

Case Comment: The Public Trustee of the Province of British Columbia v. Dorothy Stewart Batiuk 1996 CanLII 2097 (BC SC)

Batiuk is a case that is as fascinating for its facts, and the attempts by both sides to prove those facts, as it is for its holding.

Dorothy Stewart Batiuk ...

The British Columbia Law Institute has published Recommended Practices for Wills Practitioners Relating to Potential Undue Influence: A Guide, which can be downloaded as a PDF here.

The impetus for this Guide is a change to the legislation in British Columbia that will come into effect when the ...

Many times, we lawyers, as well as other professionals, speak about the capacity of our clients as a binary proposition: capacity is something that our clients either have or lack. However, the law with respect to capacity has evolved in recent years to an understanding that questions of capacity must ...

Six years ago I was on a quest to build a more successful and specialized wills and estates practice. I had heard Dave Bilinsky, practice advisor with the Law Society of British Columbia, give a presentation on marketing so I met with him in a Richmond coffee shop.

After questioning ...