The purpose of the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP) is to balance the right of an individual to dispose of her wealth upon death as she sees fit, while recognizing that property is for the living, and the law should uphold the right of the living to control it. The ALRI believes the RAP still serves an important purpose, but requires several legislated amendments and so have provided 28 recommendations for the Alberta Legislature. For example, [...]
On April 15th, 1969, the following motion was proposed in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta: "Whereas great changes are taking place in the lives of young people. Now therefore this Legislative Assembly request the government to give consideration to-enacting a Youth Act which will set the age of 19 as the age of majority and set out the basis for the contractual liability of young adults." Although the motion was defeated, the [...]
In early 1970 the ALRI was asked by the Attorney General of Alberta to study the Guarantees Acknowledgment Act, 1969, and to argue for its removal or preservation. The ALRI then examined various facets of the law related to this statute, sought and received the opinions of several practitioners, and subsequently provided several recommendations. The Guarantees Acknowledgment Act, 1969, should be retained, subject to certain amendments. First, guarantees given on the sale of any interest [...]
This paper considers the desirability and design of provincial legislation that pursues the regulation of business names and business name disclosure. Business name regulation is for the purpose of limiting the scope for confusion caused by the use of similar names, and business name disclosure requires that firms that use a business name disclose certain information about themselves to the public. This paper discusses the two objectives of business names legislation and then describes the [...]
In common law, a personal representative has no power to grant an option to purchase property comprised in an estate, unless such power is conferred by the terms of a will. We recommend, therefore, that, subject to certain limitations, the Wills Act be amended so as to provide that where any power to sell real property is imposed or conferred upon a personal representative by the terms of a will, such authority should, in the [...]
This report debates the merits of adding a provision in Alberta that would provide compensation to persons who suffer injury as the result of the criminal acts of others. Among other things, this report considers the nature, extent and administration of a scheme for Alberta, as well as the cost of such a scheme, and makes several recommendations regarding its practical implementation. The ALRI report proposes that, the Legislature of Alberta should create a system [...]