WHAT COURSES SHOULD YOU TAKE IN LAW SCHOOL? ESTATE LITIGATION EDITION

Sep 19, 2025

When I was in my third year of law school, 1L and 2L students constantly asked me two things:

  1. “Do you have an outline I could use?” and…
  2. “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.

Now, I have come to realize how valuable it is to take courses that actually relate to your future practice. There are the obvious ones (like Wills & Estates or Trusts), and the not so obvious.

 

With a 2L summer and the first weeks of articling behind me, here are the courses that have been most helpful for my work in estate litigation so far:

 

1. Civil Procedure 

This is where you learn the nuts and bolts of litigation: the differences between a motion and an application, counting days for court deadlines, different avenues to get a case dismissed, all that jazz. This course is most likely mandatory for all law students, but this is just an extra reminder to really pay attention to the content if you want to pursue litigation.

Taking this course is not a guarantee that you’ll become a pro at the Rules of Civil Procedure. In fact, one of my favourite professors told me that he’s been reading the same Rules (or similar iterations of it) for decades, and always finds new things in the same old places.

The takeaway here is that procedure can matter just as much as substance for your case, and a basic understanding of procedure can put you miles ahead.

 

2. Real Estate Law 

Estates often consist of real property, and Estate Lit could involve fighting about that property, who owns it, how much of it, who is entitled to which parts, etc. You may deal with disputes regarding cottages, condos, farmland, family homes, and there are distinct legal considerations for each type of real property.

Learning how to read and decipher an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS), a parcel register and even a Trust Ledger in law school means one less thing to panic-Google when you end up having to do it in the course of your file. This could come up in a myriad of ways, such as checking a property’s ownership or reviewing accounts.

 

3. Negotiation 

Most estate disputes settle, whether in the regular course of the file or at mediation. A negotiation course helps you understand your own client and the opposing party’s interests versus positions. Through practice, this course may also equip you to think outside of the box and prepare creative offers that actually get results.

Learning to identify your client’s BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) and separating their “must haves” versus the “nice to have” results will help you guide clients toward decisions that are cost effective, efficient, and satisfactory.

 

4. Tax Law 

I took a tax course, and yes it was difficult, but the gain was worth the pain (at least that’s what I’m telling myself to cope with having to suffer through the General Anti-avoidance Rule…).

But in truth, every estate issue has tax implications: there’s the obvious estate administration tax, but there’s also underlying tax consequences to each piece of advice you give clients on their estate problems.

Even a basic understanding of tax law can improve client service as it enables us to spot which tax issues are purely within our expertise, and which require tax lawyers or accountants.

 

No Singular Course Prepares You

No law school course will prepare you for everything. There’s no class on gathering facts and filling in gaps of information, or parsing through hundreds of pages of medical records just hoping you’ll find something relevant to your argument, but the ones mentioned gave me a solid foundation to try my best at work.

 

Fara Seddigh

Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.

WHEN LAWS COLLIDE

Jan 6, 2025

One of my favourite parts of working as an estate litigator is that our files intersect with so many areas of law. Our clients come to us for our expertise and advice on estate and capacity law, but their complex legal problems often require answers outside our expertise.We work with our clients to find experts in areas of law like tax, employment, family, business, and real estate law, to provide a comprehensive answer to our clients’ legal problems.

Not surprisingly, family law regularly interacts with estate litigation. For example, a surviving spouse may elect to make an equalization payment claim under the Family Law Act rather than take what they are entitled to under their spouse’s will. A surviving spouse may choose to make an equalization claim and, at the same time, a dependant support claim under the Succession Law Reform Act.

Tax law often comes into play in estate litigation. When you die, your assets are deemed to have been disposed of, potentially triggering capital gains tax. When working on a piece of estate litigation, we often work with expert tax lawyers to help us assess the estate’s tax liabilities. When we help our clients negotiate a settlement, we consult with tax experts to help beneficiaries and estate trustees minimize tax liabilities.

Corporate law issues often arise in estate litigation, as well. Often, we act as or represent an estate trustee for estates that own businesses. When this is the case, we may consult a business lawyer to help us find the most practical way to transfer or sell the business or to determine its assets and liabilities.

Employment law is another area that regularly comes up in estate litigation if the deceased owned a business. In such cases, the estate trustee may have to worry about employment contracts as well as ongoing wrongful dismissal claims.

Finally, real estate law frequently intersects with estate litigation. Whether it’s a family home, cottage, or investment property, disputes often arise over ownership of the property, the property value, or whether an estate property should be sold (and for how much) or kept in the family.

Estate litigation does not happen in a vacuum. Although our clients may retain us to assist with a will challenge or a dependant support claim, for example, other areas of law are sure to pop up over the course of the litigation. It’s our job to find lawyers with the right expertise to work with so we can, together, provide helpful and tailored advice to reach a resolution as quickly and efficiently as possible.

 

Cara Zacks

Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.