Published Items

Issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity impact almost all areas of legal practice. Members of the LGBTQ2+ community face unique hurdles, especially in areas of family, immigration, estates, and criminal law. LGBTQ2+ Law: Practice Issues and Analysis is the first text of its kind, offering a practical treatment of these specific challenges within a variety of legal contexts.

Beginning with a foreword by Kathleen Wynne, the first openly LGBTQ2+ premier in Canada, this text draws on the expertise and experience of a diverse author team to provide practitioners with a deep understanding of how their clients’ identities affect their interactions with the Canadian legal landscape.

A one-stop source of expert and insightful commentary on both the common law and its statutory codification and reform in various provinces.

Features of the 4th Edition include:

• 18 chapters that address key aspects of wills and estates law including probate and construction issues
• Exhaustive treatment of the relevant court decisions – pulls together the various threads and distinguishes the reputable and the questionable authorities
• Straightforward commentary on the existing probate and estate administration regimes
• Draws on relevant statutes and case law from across Canada as well as selected Commonwealth and U.S. jurisdictions.

This publication is not only comprehensive, but is also a practical guide to estate administration in Ontario with detailed reference to all of the other Canadian jurisdictions. It provides in-depth analysis of all of the legal issues which can arise, both in contentious and non-contentious matters. It has been cited by courts of all levels across Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

This is a one-stop resource for practitioners and courts to easily access all areas of estates law from basic to sophisticated practice problems. It also provides academic analysis to legal issues in this area of law. Extensive and practical precedents are also included.

This new book will help you explain to clients the financial and emotional benefits of developing an effective and comprehensive estate plan that includes consulting with intended beneficiaries as part of the process.

The cost of litigating an estate matter can be enormous – both financially and emotionally. However, most estate litigation can be avoided with advance planning.

The book takes readers through the steps in the estate planning process, discusses how to prevent mistakes from happening, describes the circumstances in which estate plans are challenged, and takes them through a method by which the wishes of intended beneficiaries can be considered. It is a book that you will want to give to clients as well as have on your bookshelf and in your reception area.

The question of how to address and respond to the needs of people suffering from mental infirmity is an issue that the courts have been dealing with for many years.
In 1942, Chief Justice Robertson of the Ontario Court of Appeal described the jurisdiction of the court as follows:’ The jurisdiction of the Court in lunacy maters is an old one, derived from various sources, and is now declared and governed by the provisions of The Mental Incompetency Act RS.O. 1937, c. 10. The functions of the Court in providing for the management of the estate of a mentally incompetent person are of character that a public officer such as the Public Trustee, who has a great many separate funds in his care, requiring for their supervision and management a large staff to whom much of the business must be delegated, would hardly be able to discharge. It has ben said that in the management of the estate of the afflicted person, the Court endeavours to supply the place that has been rendered void by his withdrawal.

Jordan Atin’s new book on successfully navigating the inheritance dispute minefield.

In this ground-breaking 221-page book, experienced wills and estates lawyers Barry Fish, Jordan M. Atin and Les Kotzer provide insight and strategies to help you in your inheritance dispute using a plain language, “tell it like it is,” approach.

The authors’ last book, The Family Fight – Planning to Avoid It, was featured in Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The National Post and Associated Press.

The authors are also frequent guests on TV and radio across North America, appearing on CNN, Fox, CityTV, CFRB, National Public Radio and many other programs.

Here is a Hull & Hull tip that identifies one of the rare opportunities to manage your own practice risk better, even if you only handle estate work infrequently.

LawPRO’s practicePRO initiative provides risk management, claims prevention and law practice management information to Ontario lawyers. PracticePRO’s resources, precedents and checklists will help you take proactive steps to avoid a legal malpractice claim, and show you how to grow a successful and thriving law practice.

The Canadian Estate Administration Guide is the only estate administration resource available in Canada with multi-jurisdictional coverage. It supports your practice with relevant and indexed commentary, legislation, key forms,and precedents. It covers a wide range of topics, from wills to funeral arrangements, to the final passing of accounts. It includes recent cases, tax case digests, relevant statutes from each jurisdiction, forms, precedents, checklists and letters.

This work details the process for the appointment of the estate trustee with a will, and at what stages the will can be attacked. The substantive grounds for challenging the will’s validity are covered including undue influence, fraud, lack of testamentary capacity, suspicious circumstances and improper execution of the testamentary document.

The appendices contain a complete selection of estates forms under Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure for use in contentious estates proceedings. The author provides guidance for compelling the reluctant executor to produce the testamentary document, for revoking the appointment of the estate trustee where fraud has occurred, for making a claim against the estate, and for the appointment of an administrator pending the outcome of the litigation. Practice tips are also provided.

Rodney and Ian M. Hull’s book on probate practice is a comprehensive, practical guide to estate administration in Ontario.

A comprehensive, practical guide complete with statutory forms, precedent materials and in-depth analysis by respected leaders in the field. More than 2,500 Canadian, United Kingdom and United States court decisions are cited in the presentation of the key issues impacting on estate practice. Approved by the Supreme Court of Canada.