GOOD NEWS: On April 7, 2020, the Ministry of the Attorney General announced an Order in Council declaring that the requirement of witnesses being in the physical presence of a client when signing Wills and Powers of Attorney has been lifted and the use of video confere...

During the COVID-19 epidemic, safety of our clients and colleagues is of paramount importance.  Until further notice, legal services will be available by phone, e-mail and video conference only.  As technology has been a mainstay in our practice, except for face to fac...

Most home purchases are done with the help of a mortgage. Here are some things I wish all home-buyers knew when purchasing:

1. An unconditional purchase agreement should not be signed without first obtaining a mortgage commitment from a lender. In writing. If the mortga...

You call a law office.  You speak with a person answering the phone for the first time and he or she asks you for your full name, contact information, the name of your employer and even your employer's contact information.  The information you are asked to provide is p...

Recently, a prospective client invited me to Bridgehead because she was interviewing real estate lawyers in the area before she made her choice.  The gesture was unusual (lawyers don't normally get interviewed before they are hired) but, intrigued, I accepted the invit...

Maximizing value and minimizing waste is at the core of the "lean law" philosophy.  More efficient and cost-effective service through collaboration, process engineering and technology. Legal expertise and precedent combined with openness to social and economic change....

Or is it, to commission?

Commissioners administer an oath and verify the genuineness of the signature of the deponent (the person signing an affidavit or statutory declaration). The deponent signs an affidavit or statutory declaration in the presence of the Commissione...

The principal residence is usually home to your kids; even after they leave home and settle down.  Wishing to limit Estate Administration Taxes, many individuals bring their child on title in joint tenancy (thereby, taking advantage of the right of survivorship)....

Joan Rivers left her $150M fortune to her daughter and among others…..to her dogs.

We are not too far off from Hollywood. 

In Ontario, a pet is property and, therefore, forms part of the estate of the deceased. If there is no Will, the pet devolves, like other property,...

Legal client services are becoming more efficient and so are the legal business structures underpinning them.  At the same time, lawyers are becoming more conscious of the value their work brings to clients.

If you liked how accessible, tech-integrated, community a...

You don't have to be a parent to care about the next generation.  People without children, from vociferous proponents of independence (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1166543/Childless-proud-Too-right-says-37-year-old-singleton-believes-having-children-wrecks...

At the age of 99, Huguette Clarke, heiress of a mining fortune, executed a Will where she left nothing for her family members and instead, left her $300 million fortune to a future foundation for the arts, her goddaughter, doctor, accountant, lawyer, nurse and to the h...