Author: Chris Cook

Christopher Cook is an associate lawyer at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP. He obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in June 2022. Prior to law school, Christopher completed a Bachelor of Arts degree specializing in philosophy at the University of Toronto, and a Master of Arts degree in philosophy at the University of Western Ontario.

Reasons for Exercising Discretion

In a discretionary trust, the trustees are given complete discretion concerning distributions of income or capital.  The trustees may have the discretion to choose the timing of the distributions, as well as the recipients, amounts, and conditions of the distributions.  The trustees may also have the discretion to exclude any one or more of the […]

Uncategorized

How Long Do You Have to Bring a Will Challenge?

In Ontario, most legal claims are subject to the basic two-year limitation period set out in Section 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002, SO 2002, c 24, Sch B (the “Limitations Act”).  This basic limitation period requires legal claims to be brought within two years of the day on which the claim is first discovered.

Uncategorized

Seeking Court Approval of a Settlement in Writing

Minors and incapable persons are protected in a variety of ways in Ontario’s court system. One form of protection comes through Rule 7 of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”). In particular, subrule 7.08(1) provides: “No settlement of a claim made by or against a person under disability, whether or not a proceeding has

Court Procedure

Wait a Minute! I Thought We Agreed to Settle!

Litigation is long, expensive, and stressful, and its outcome is never certain. This is why lawyers often encourage their clients to attempt to mediate their legal problems outside the court room. If a mediation is successful, the parties will enter into a settlement agreement which sets out the terms under which the parties agree to

Estate Mediation

Striking an Affidavit under Rule 25.11

In estate litigation, affidavits are a common and crucial source of evidence. On occasion, one party may take issue with an opposing party’s affidavit evidence. When this happens, the usual course of action is to challenge the admissibility of the affidavit evidence at trial or during the main hearing. However, in some circumstances, it may

Court Procedure
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