19
Jan
Can Your Last Will and Testament Prevent Your Ex From Getting Child Custody After Your Death?
Can Your Last Will and Testament Prevent Your Ex From Getting Child Custody After Your Death?...
Toronto Law Blog
22
Dec
Life Insurance: Your Money’s Life After Debt
The Ontario Estate Information Return has arrived and is here to stay. Effective January 1, 2015, every Executor or Estate Trustee who obtains a grant of probate (also known in Ontario as a certificate of appointment) must accurately complete a comprehensive 7 page report about the...
20
Dec
When is a Layoff Really a Termination in Disguise?
There are big differences between the ways the law treats employee layoffs and permanent terminations. Although the terms are often used interchangeably when describing employment that has ended, they are not the same thing at all....
15
Dec
The (Dreaded) Ontario Estate Information Return
The Ontario Estate Information Return has arrived and is here to stay. Effective January 1, 2015, every Executor or Estate Trustee who obtains a grant of probate (also known in Ontario as a certificate of appointment) must accurately complete a comprehensive 7 page report about the...
13
Dec
Are Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Clauses Actually Enforceable?
Employment agreements will often include language that is intended to restrict the actions of employees following the end of their employment. These types of clauses, typically relating to confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition, are aptly referred to in the employment law world as restrictive covenants....
08
Dec
Power of Attorney for Personal Care: Great Power with Great Responsibility
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a document that sometimes gets referred to, or thought of, as a "living will" or "advanced care directive"....
01
Dec
Last Wills that Offend Public Decency
Competing February 2016 rulings by Ontario courts have left us with real questions as to when a discriminatory Last Will and Testament will be upheld in this province....
29
Nov
Enforceability of Employment Agreements: Termination Clauses in Ontario
Employment agreements in non-union environments typically govern the terms of the working relationship itself, but they may also set out exactly how the employment relationship may be brought to an end....
24
Nov
Getting It Right: Formal Requirements for Your Last Will and Testament
Keep this in mind when drafting your Last Will and Testament. The law is very clear about the formal requirements that must be met for a Will to be validated. So, along with ensuring that your Will clearly articulates how you want your Estate's...
22
Nov
Top 7 Tips for Getting Fired Like a Pro
It is never a pleasant experience to learn that your employment is being terminated, no matter what the circumstances may be. Nonetheless, there is a right way of handling your dismissal. If you are careful in the way you handle your exit, it is possible to protect your...
04
Nov
Salt on a Wound: Breaching Confidentiality of a Wrongful Dismissal Settlement Can Cost You
A cautionary tale for employees - an employer can and very likely will sue you, if you breach the confidentiality clause of an employment law settlement agreement....
14
Oct
Heckling the Home Team: Off-Duty Conduct and Dismissal for Cause
What kind of off-duty conduct could justify an Ontario employee's dismissal for cause?...
14
Oct
Are You “Just Happy to See Me,” or Looking to Get Fired?
This grocery store worker from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y, was terminated for leaving work with far more meat in his pants than he arrived with. $1,200.00 more meat, to be precise. (Make up your own punch lines...
07
Mar
Laws Required to Swat Employers’ Hands from Employees’ Tip Jar
In many workplaces in the service sector, tips are pooled together and, at the end of a shift, divided up among the workers on duty during that shift. It is common practice for the employer to take a portion of the tip money in...
20
Feb
Mitigation – A Dismissed Employee’s Continuing Obligation
It is a well founded principle in the law of contracts that once a breach occurs, a plaintiff has an obligation to minimize their damages. In bringing an action against a defendant for breach of contract, a plaintiff would not be allowed to "rack up"...
16
Jan
Intentional Under-Employment – Judges Tell Payors “Get a Real Job!”
When will Ontario's courts impute income to a parent for the purpose of calculating his or her child support obligations?...
15
Jan
Punitive Damages in Ontario Employment Law – Pate Estate v. Galway-Cavendish and Harvey (Township)
In Whitten v. Pilot Insurance, the Supreme Court of Canada articulated the purpose, appropriateness and range of punitive damage awards in Canada. An award for punitive damages is only appropriate if conduct is “high-handed, malicious, arbitrary or highly reprehensible ...
08
Jan
Supreme Court of Canada Rules on Pension Income and Damages in Wrongful Dismissal
The Supreme Court of Canada's recent ruling in IBM Canada Ltd. v. Waterman provides a great deal of clarity on the issue of collateral benefits such as pensions in a wrongful dismissal action and whether such a benefit ought to be deducted from the amount...
11
Dec
Dispelling Unjustified Fears – The Record of Employment (ROE)
The end of an employment relationship is rarely a pleasant experience for anyone involved. Particularly for a dismissed employee, heightened emotions and confusion can lead to genuine anxiety and stress. In the midst of all of this turmoil, an employer issues a Record of Employment (ROE)...
09
Dec
The “Simple” Will: Not Always So Simple…
Drafting a simple, uncomplicated will may appear to be a routine task for most legal practitioners in comparison to “flashier” legal matters like messy divorces and high stakes litigation. ...