Each time a new matter is commenced with the Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”), you are provided with a unique court file number. There are two main formats in which the SCJ has issued court file numbers (“CFN”), which in this blog I will refer to as the “old” and “new” formats.

The first few months of law school can feel overwhelming. I remember worrying about moving to a new city, establishing friendships, and adapting to a teaching style that was completely different from anything I had experienced before. Adding extracurricular commitments to an already full schedule was the last thing on my mind.

This is my first blog as a proud new lawyer at this fantastic firm, and I’ve decided to write about the role of financial institutions – banks in particular – in the early stages of estate litigation. The reason for this topic is in that this past year, banks have managed to play a big role in some of my and my colleagues’ files despite having no stake in the litigation.

One Ontario case, Zimmerman v. McMichael Estate, shows exactly what can go wrong when executors don’t keep proper records. The court’s message was clear: executors must document everything, or risk personal consequences. The Zimmerman case serves as a cautionary tale for anyone serving as an executor.

In my blog of January 9, 2024, When Does Marriage Revoke a Will, I puzzled about the Bill 245 amendments to sections 15 and 16 of the Succession Law Reform Act, which repealed the sections on marriage revoking a Will, and when those amendments could be said to take effect. Since writing that blog, I have heard from counsel who argued the case that the court has decided this issue.

As the first point of contact for our firm, I receive numerous calls from potential clients seeking legal advice and assistance with respect to estates and wills. Here are three commonly asked questions and answers to these questions.

When I was in my third year of law school, 1L and 2L students constantly asked me two things:“Do you have an outline I could use?” and…“What courses should I take next year?”The first one was easy (yes, I do). The second one? Much harder. My advice usually depended on which classes I did well in, or which professors I liked, not necessarily which courses would be the most useful later.

In my last blog, we explored on how to pull a parcel register without a PIN (Property Identification Number) via ONLAND. In this post, we will walk through how to read parcel register and how to search for instruments associated with a property.

On June 16, 2025, important amendments to the Rules for obtaining court approval of settlements involving parties under disability came into force.[1] These amendments preserve the open court principle to the greatest extent possible while ensuring that incapable parties are not prejudiced by processes designed to protect them.

Being an ASL student reminded me what it’s like to learn a new subject from scratch. Reflecting on this experience, I realized there were many lessons that I could take away from my ASL class and apply to my day job that could make me a better lawyer.