Matrimonial Property Act: Valuation Date, Report for Discussion 25

The Matrimonial Property Act was enacted in 1978 and provides a method of sharing matrimonial property between spouses on marriage breakdown. What property is available for sharing and how is it valued? Since 2005, the law applied by the courts is that the property must be valued at trial. In reviewing Alberta cases since 2009, this date is problematic. It is an uncertain future date, assumes spouses will litigate to trial, and discourages earlier party driven settlements. [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:27-06:00November 2nd, 2014|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Arbitration Act: Stay and Appeal Issues, Report for Discussion 24

Many legal disputes are arbitrated outside the court system using the Alberta Arbitration Act. These arbitrated cases can include commercial, consumer, family and community issues. The Alberta Law Reform Institute has just released a Report for Discussion seeking public input on some procedural issues which affect the ideal functioning of the arbitration system. The Report explores difficulties arising out of simultaneous court proceedings which must be suspended or stayed in whole or in part so [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:32-06:00August 2nd, 2012|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Succession and Posthumously Conceived Children, Report for Discussion 23

This report discusses the position of posthumously conceived children under the law of succession in Alberta and outlines some possible options for reform. It is unlikely that parentage can be established for posthumously conceived children under Alberta`s Family Law Act, and therefore the link for inheritance purposes is missing. Even if parentage could be established, the fact that reproduction occurs sometime after the death of one of the parents brings in other factors affecting whether and [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:41-06:00February 2nd, 2012|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Contracts for the Sale and Purchase of Land: Purchasers’ Remedies, Report for Discussion 21

This report addresses the current state of the law (as of the time of publication) concerning situations where a purchaser of land has fulfilled his or her obligations under the purchase contract, but the vendor has not transferred the land. In Semelhago v. Paramadevan, [1996] 2 SCR 415, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that in most such cases, the purchaser will be entitled to damages, but not specific performance (i.e., receipt of the land in [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:55-06:00March 2nd, 2009|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Estate Administration, Report for Discussion 22

Estate administration is the job of gathering the assets of the person deceased, paying the debts and distributing the estate to the persons entitled by will or the intestate succession legislation. Often the personal representative [PR] will be a family member who may have no previous experience of such a job and will also be dealing with the death of a family member at the same time. Surveys have found that the job of a [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:18:47-06:00October 2nd, 2011|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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The Creation of Wills, Report for Discussion 20

This report makes a number of recommendations to reform the Wills Act. It recommends that Alberta courts be given the power to validate a will or an alteration, revocation or revival of a will even if it does not comply with the formalities prescribed by the Wills Act. It also recommends that the age of testamentary capacity remain the same as the age of majority (18 years) so that a minor cannot make a valid will. People [...]

By |2021-01-25T14:11:14-07:00September 2nd, 2007|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Order of Application of Assets in Satisfaction of Debts and Liabilities, Report for Discussion 19

This report considers the payment of a person's debts out of their estate after their death (at the time of publication). Over hundreds of years, a common law "order of application" had developed, that determined the order in which certain kinds of assets could be applied to pay off a debt, so that, for example, assets that were not given over as a gift to someone would be applied to pay off debts before those [...]

By |2020-08-05T12:19:10-06:00September 2nd, 2001|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.4–Child Guardianship, Custody and Access, Report for Discussion 18.4

As addressed in the other reports in this series, Alberta law relating to the care of children (at the time of this report's publication) included a variety of statutory provisions that were out-dated, inconsistent, and/or had uncertain scope. For this reason, this report begins from a "clean slate" in trying to define (i) child guardianship, (ii) custody, and (iii) access, and to determine how these issues can be decided in order to protect the best [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:36:38-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.3–Child Support, Report for Discussion 18.3

This report was written to address five concerns about child support law at the time of its publication, viz.: the inadequacy of child support awarded; inconsistency of award between similar families; inefficiency in assessment; inequality based on "legitimacy" of birth; and unaddressed complexities based on the inter-relation between spousal support, custody of children, and child support. This report expounds recommendations for a new approach to child support, which is meant to foster equality for all [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:35:17-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Family Law v. 18.2–Spousal Support, Report for Discussion 18.2

At the time of publication, Alberta's law relating to spousal support after a divorce was unique in Canada, in that it incorporated the "fault doctrine." This doctrine holds that in order to obtain support, a spouse must prove that he or she is the "innocent party" in the divorce (i.e., not responsible for the marriage breakdown), and that the other spouse is culpable (i.e., responsible for the marriage breakdown). This report suggests the elimination of [...]

By |2022-09-26T13:34:06-06:00October 2nd, 1998|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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