Abolition of Perpetuities Law, Final Report 110

The rule against perpetuities is an ancient and complex set of legal rules designed to prevent people from indefinitely tying up land and assets via successive contingent interests of title so that future generations cannot sell, mortgage or enjoy full use of the property. In 1972, Alberta reformed the worst excesses of the rule against perpetuities in our current Perpetuities Act, seeking a reasonable balance between competing interests. Following public consultation, the Alberta Law Reform […]

March 1, 2017

A New Trustee Act for Alberta, Final Report 109

Trusts are used by many Albertans as a way to manage property and assets, both before and after death. Having modern and clear rules for setting up and handling trusts is important to allow Albertans to manage and distribute their property. The current Trustee Act is outdated and has not kept pace with the modern world. ALRI has just released Final Report No. 109 – A New Trustee Act for Alberta. The Report sets out ALRI’s […]

January 1, 2017

A New Trustee Act for Alberta, Report 28

In 2012, the Uniform Law Conference of Canada published the Uniform Trustee Act and recommended it be adopted by the common law provinces. ALRI representatives participated in the creation of the Uniform Trustee Act. ALRI’s Report For Discussion #28, A New Trustee Act for Alberta, consists of recommendations for implementing the Uniform Trustee Act in Alberta. Using the Uniform Trustee Act as a starting point, ALRI has enhanced, tailored and clarified the Uniform Trustee Act to […]

November 1, 2015

Trustee Investment Powers, Final Report 80

If the instrument that creates a trust does not expressly define the trustee’s powers, section 5 of the Trustee Act defines them. Known as the “legal list”, section 5 states which type of investments a trustee may purchase. The list of permitted investments aims to minimize risk. Many Commonwealth jurisdictions are replacing the legal list concept with the prudent investor approach, and a description of this evolution is included in Chapter 2. The prudent investor method encourages […]

February 29, 2000

Trustee Investments Powers, Consultation Memorandum 7

A person who creates a trust is entitled to give the trustees investment powers that are as broad or as narrow as the trust creator considers appropriate. A trust portfolio consisting only of assets identified in section 5 of the Trustee Act would be described as conservative and over the long term the return on such a portfolio would be significantly lower than the return that an investor could realize by applying ordinary principles of long-term prudent […]

September 4, 1999

Contributory Negligence and Concurrent Wrongdoers, Final Report 31

The Contributory negligence Act and the Tortfeasors Act are valuable pieces of law reform and have made fundamental improvements in tort law. However, there are some gaps in the Acts that give rise to problems of interpretation. This report examines the Acts in order to reconcile them, to clarify them, to fill in any gaps, and to consider whether or not their principles should be extended to cases not currently included within them. This report […]

April 1, 1979

Maintenance of Children in Alberta

January 1, 1973

Powers of Maintenance and Advancement, Final Report 10

This report addresses the widening of the provisions for maintenance from income and capital and considers provisions for advancement. It examines when a gift carries income; powers of maintenance out of income; and powers of maintenance and advancement out of capital. Frequently, the trust instrument does not confer powers to maintain or advance and in modern times statutory powers have appeared. Sections 32 and 33 of theAlberta Trustee Act, 1970, are examined. Section 32 gives […]

June 1, 1972

Rule in Saunders v Vautier, Final Report 9

This report examines the various Rules in the law of will and trusts with have been subject to criticism to see whether the Rules should be altered, and if so what the new provisions should be. One of these Rules is called the rule in Saunders v Vautier which states: Where there is an absolute vested gift made payable at the future even with a direction to accumulate the income in the meantime and pay […]

February 1, 1972

Rule Against Perpetuities, Final Report 6

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, […]

August 1, 1971