In Alberta, the owner of all real property (ie. real estate) must be registered with the Land Titles Office. The property can be owned as either joint tenants or tenants in common. Most commonly seen for residential home owners is joint tenants. Joint tenants are equal owners of the property. …
Finally, fifteen years after the death of “The Godfather of Soul”, James Brown, his estate has been settled. As with other celebrities such as Aretha Franklin and Prince, who died without a coherent estate plan or a will, expensive and time-consuming litigation has been a hall-mark of the James Brown …
Separated parents in Alberta may be entitled to receive support from the other, despite not having been married. Adult Interdependent Partner support, or support for a common law partner, can be a highly contentious issue as the payor typically feels that since they did not get married, they should not …
The concept of murder for profit is a consistent theme in real life and fictional pop culture. But can someone who has caused another person’s death also take a benefit from that person’s estate? According to the Slayer Rule, the answer in most instances is no, but there is a …
The problem of a predatory marriage in which a person with reduced mental capacity marries someone who is motivated to take advantage of property transfers, family property legislation or changes to estate plans, is an increasing feature of the greying demographic. And while the term “predatory marriage” has a certain …
In Alberta, the Matrimonial Property Act has been amended and renamed the Family Property Act. The primary purpose of the amendments is to include property acquired by spouses in a non-married relationship as subject to the (rebuttable) presumption of equal division upon termination of the relationship. The Family Property Act …
Navigating a separation from a spouse or a partner is often stressful, painful and confusing. There is often no end to the worries, including financial stress, concerns for children, and the desire to end the conflict without a war. An important conclusion reached by many family law professionals, including lawyers, …
Spousal support in Alberta can be a very complicated issue as there are multiple steps and considerations to determining appropriate support, one of which is the “Rule of 65”. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines provide guidance for how Courts in Alberta will determine whether a party is entitled to spousal …
The Fault Line. The Earthquake. The Fall Out Using a natural disaster analogy to describe divorce may seem needlessly theatrical. The most fortunate couples who end their relationship will do so amicably, collaboratively and with minimal trauma. However, many spouses indeed experience the ending of a relationship as an unmitigated …
Family Lawyers regularly encounter male clients who feel preemptively aggrieved by the judicial system. Some men’s advocacy groups would have you believe that court decisions in Family Law are unjustly and favourably skewed toward women. That perception is not reality. Parenting Issues When couples with children separate, the two key …
