Legal Papers – de VRIES LITIGATION

MAiD and Mental Illness: A Cautionary Tale

Justin de Vries and Chris Cook | May 13, 2025

To learn more about medical assistance in dying and estate planning, check out the following paper co-authored by Justin W. de Vries and Christopher Cook: MAiD and Mental Illness: A Cautionary Tale. This paper was published by the Law Society of Ontario for its annual program, The Six-Minute Estates Lawyer…

Navigating Limitation Periods in Estate Litigation

Chris Cook | May 8, 2024

Limitation periods are widely regarded as the bane of a lawyer’s existence. Arguably, this is especially so for estate litigators, who are required to balance a number of different statutes each with their own unique limitation periods. For some general guidance on navigating limitation periods in estate litigation, check out…

Near Death Decisions and Deathbed Wills

Tyler Lin | January 16, 2023

Last week, Justin de Vries presented at the Estate Planning Council of Canada’s All About Estate Planning event. For this talk, he co-authored a paper with Tyler Lin on the subject of Near Death Decisions & Deathbed Wills. We hope you enjoy reading this paper.

Estates, Trusts and Capacity Case Law Update

Tyler Lin | September 22, 2022

On September 23-24, Justin de Vries will be speaking at the Frontenac Law Association, 1000 Island Legal Conference in Gananoque, Ontario on the subject of Estates, Trusts and Capacity Case Law Update 2022. We hope you can attend. Happy reading.

Three Practical Tips for Navigating a Deathbed Retainer

Tyler Lin and Justin de Vries | June 2, 2022

Did you know that deathbed wills are the original will? In this paper published by the Law Society of Ontario’s annual Six-Minute Estates Lawyer 2022 program, Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin explore best practices for solicitors in navigating a deathbed retainer scenario. This paper is structured around three general…

Calmusky v Calmusky – An Update

Karen Watters | March 22, 2022

The Superior Court of Justice in Ontario has not followed Calmusky with respect to beneficiary designations.

A Practical Guide to Capacity Assessments in Litigation

Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin | March 21, 2022

The determination of whether a person is incapable is ultimately a legal one not a medical/clinical one. While a report from a certified capacity assessor is not necessarily required, the convention among lawyers and the court is to rely on a capacity assessment as the best evidence of incapacity where capacity…

Hotchpot Clauses: What Happens to Debts on Death?

Tyler Lin and Justin de Vries | October 25, 2021

In this paper co-authored by Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin, the authors deal with the “hotchpot clause”, a common estate planning tool. Part I of this paper addresses what is, and is not meant by this term with multiple meanings. Part II of this paper examines the three reasons…

Litigating Intangible Rights: Reputation, Digital Assets, and Endorsement Rights of Influencers

Tyler Lin and Justin de Vries | October 25, 2021

Rapid growths in technology can catalyze changes to the law. But what happens when that growth outpaces legal developments? In this paper, Justin de Vries and Tyler Lin examine the disruptive effects that recent breakthroughs in technology has had on the field of estate litigation. Part I of this paper…

Legal Resources

MAiD and Mental Illness: A Cautionary Tale

Navigating Limitation Periods in Estate Litigation

Near Death Decisions and Deathbed Wills

Estates, Trusts and Capacity Case Law Update

Three Practical Tips for Navigating a Deathbed Retainer

Calmusky v Calmusky – An Update

A Practical Guide to Capacity Assessments in Litigation

Hotchpot Clauses: What Happens to Debts on Death?

Litigating Intangible Rights: Reputation, Digital Assets, and Endorsement Rights of Influencers

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