Publications
Wills: Non-Compliance with Formalities, Consultation Memorandum 8
Wills are occasionally excluded from probate because their execution does not comply strictly with the formalities required by the Wills Act. This paper is to determine whether or not provision should be made for admitting to probate some or all wills that do not strictly comply with the formalities but which testators nonetheless intend to constitute their wills. This paper raises the question of whether or not some provisions should be made that would allow a […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | compliance, dispensing, formality, holograph, intention, probate, testator, will |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | CM8.pdf |
December 4, 1999
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 […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | risk, constant, investment, investor, power, prudent, prudent man, trust, trustee |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | CM7.pdf |
September 4, 1999
Reform of the Intestate Succession Act, Final Report 78
The current scheme for intestate succession is patterned after legislation created in 1670. The report aims to reform the Intestate Succession Act in a manner more in line with the modern presumed intention of intestates, which has been gleaned through an examination of various studies. This report recommends that if an intestate died leaving a surviving spouse and issue, and all of the issue were of the surviving spouse, the entire estate should go to the surviving […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Marriage & Divorce |
| TAGS | intestacy, history, social, trend, cohabitate, distribution, estate, share, spouse |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr078.pdf |
June 29, 1999
Should a Claim for the Loss of a Chance of Future Earnings Survive Death? Final Report 76
Section 2 of the Survival of Actions Act (SAA) provides that a “cause of action vested in a person survives for the benefit of his estate.” Section 5 of the SAA specifies that “only those damages that resulted in actual financial loss to the deceased or his estate are recoverable.” In Duncan Estate v Baddeley, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that the loss of a chance of future earnings was an actual financial loss. This report recommends the SAA be amended […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | claim, compensation, damages, death, estate, survival of action, wrongful |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr076.pdf |
December 29, 1998
Revision of the Surrogate Rules, Final Report 73
This report aims to amend Alberta’s outdated Surrogate Rules, which govern the procedure for the administration of an estate. A complicated, detailed endeavour, it was completed in partnership with the Surrogate Rules Committee, and focused solely on the procedural statutory provisions involved. Substantive provisions are examined in another project now underway. Some recommendations are: That one court have carriage of all applications dealing with the administration of a given estate so that courtroom efficiency is […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | grant, affidavit, surrogate, dependent, deceased, estate, minor, Rule, trustee, will |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr073.pdf |
May 29, 1996
Reform of the Intestate Succession Act, Report for Discussion 16
A person who dies without a valid will is known as “intestate.” The distribution of such a person’s assets was (at the time of this report’s publication) determined by the Intestate Succession Act, RSA 1980, c I-9. This Act was based on a system of property distribution developed in 1670 (the Statute of Distribution). This report asserts that this scheme of distribution was out of date, and that the will of those who died intestate could be […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | intestacy, history, social, trend, children, distribution, estate, share, spouse |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | rfd16.pdf |
January 2, 1996
Effect of Divorce on Wills, Final Report 72
In Alberta, divorce has no effect on a will made during marriage. If a person has made a will that leaves everything to their spouse, the will is not automatically revoked or otherwise affected by a subsequent divorce. If the person who made the will dies without changing their will or remarrying, everything would go to their former spouse in accordance with the pre-divorce will. In many Canadian and foreign jurisdictions the result would be […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Marriage & Divorce |
| TAGS | complete, partial, revocation, dissolution, divorce, marriage, testator, will |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr072.pdf |
November 1, 1994
Beneficiary Designations: RRSPs, RRIFs and Section 47 of the Trustee Act, Final Report 68
This report examines the issue whether section 47 of the Trustee Act ought to apply to RRSPs and RRIFs. It describes the scope and history of this project, looks at the existing law, and concludes that section 47 probably applies to RRSPs, even though its definition of “plan” does not mention them by name. The report also explores the fact that RRIFs as a type of “plan” within the meaning of section 47 is more doubtful. Arguments […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law |
| TAGS | disposition, testamentary, designation, beneficiary, estate, Property, Validity |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr068.pdf |
September 29, 1993
Advance Directives and Substitute Decision-Making in Personal Health Care, Final Report 64
Present law relating to substitute healthcare decision-making is deficient, as it requires that consent be obtained but does not provided a practical mechanism for doing so. The law also fails to provide individuals with a mechanism for planning for their own incapacity with respect to healthcare decisions. This report contains 28 recommendations and contains draft legislation entitled Health Care Instructions Act which would create the advance directive, create the healthcare agent or proxy, and integrate the scheme […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | patient, adult, healthcare, treatment, consent, decision, health care, personal |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr064.pdf |
March 28, 1993
Advance Directives and Substitute Decision-Making in Personal Health Care, Report for Discussion 11
Present law relating to substitute healthcare decision-making is deficient, as it requires that consent be obtained but does not provided a practical mechanism for doing so. The law also fails to provide individuals with a mechanism for planning for their own incapacity with respect to healthcare decisions. This report contains 28 recommendations and contains draft legislation entitled Health Care Instructions Act which would create the advance directive, create the healthcare agent or proxy, and integrate the scheme […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession |
| TAGS | patient, adult, healthcare, treatment, consent, decision, health care, personal |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | rfd11.pdf |
November 2, 1991