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What is a “common law” relationship?
Family Law Blog
People often refer to themselves as being in a “common law” relationship, or being “common law” spouses, but from a legal perspective, what does that actually mean? This blog post will explore some of the key differences between a “common...
Changes in “occupants” found not to be a material change in risk for the purpose of voiding a home insurance policy
MT Insurance Law Blog
The British Columbia Supreme Court in Dubroy v. Canadian Northern Shield Insurance Co., 2021 BCSC 352 held that a home insurance policy was not rendered void because there was no material change in risk arising from a change in occupants....
COVID-19 vaccines for kids: What happens when divorced and separated parents disagree?
Family Law Blog
The COVID-19 vaccine has recently been approved for children aged 12 and up. For many teens and parents this is good news and signals a return to pre-COVID life. But what happens when separated parents disagree about whether their children...
Accountability for the section 7(4) accounting report: When is it ‘reasonable and necessary’?
MT Insurance Law Blog
The requirement under section 7(4) of the Ontario Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule [1] for insurers to fund accounting reports on behalf of insured persons is a reasonable one. To be eligible for funding by the insurer, the reports must be:...
Canadian organizations take note – Data Protection Authority fines foreign-based business under GDPR for not having “Article 27” representative
MT Cybersecurity Blog
As we have discussed in several previous articles, Canadian businesses and other organizations can be subject to the European General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) for a number of reasons and in a number of different contexts, be it as a...
Living together, separately: Making a case for spousal support, without ever sharing an address
Family Law Blog
Common law relationships are increasingly becoming the norm as more people are consciously choosing not to marry. In Ontario, there remains to be a different set of legal rights, obligations and entitlements to those in a common law relationship versus...
Living apart together relationships
Family Law Blog
Can two people qualify as “spouses” if they do not live together? This post looks at “living apart together” (or “LAT”) relationships from the perspective of spousal support. Long-term, committed LAT relationships are not entirely uncommon. For a variety of...
Why competent legal advice is fundamental
MT Estate Litigation Blog
Interpretative principles reiterated – “for awhile” does not mean indefinitely Four main principles of will interpretation were recently illustrated in Kirst Estate (Re), 2020 ABCA 233. In that case, the deceased left all of his assets, the most significant of...
Can I waive support in a separation agreement?
Family Law Blog
Many parties who are separating wish to avoid the time and expense of the court process and instead enter into a separation agreement. A separation agreement works like a contract which sets out all of the terms regarding the separation....
“Yes, I do” – what does it entail?
Family Law Blog
When two people get married, they are naturally convinced that it will be for life, and don’t necessarily think about the financial ramifications of saying the famous “I do.” Unfortunately, some marriages do end in divorce. When our clients come...
Disclaimer
This blog sets out a variety of materials relating to the law to be used for educational and non-commercial purposes only; the author(s) of this blog do not intend the blog to be a source of legal advice. Please retain and seek the advice of a lawyer and use your own good judgement before choosing to act on any information included in the blog. If you choose to rely on the materials, you do so entirely at your own risk.