British Columbia offers various home and community care services to individuals requiring assistance with day-to-day life due to health issues or illness. Individuals living in Long-Term Care Homes and Assisted Living Residences are some of British Columbia’s most vulnerable members of society. Long-Term Care Homes provide 24-hour care to elderly residents. Residents in Long-Term Care […]
This article concerns the recent British Columbia Court of Appeal decision in Bergler v Odenthal, 2020 BCCA 175 [“Bergler”] The appeal concerned the validity of a “secret trust” that Ms. Stuhff, now deceased, had allegedly imposed on her common-law partner, Mr. Odenthal. Secret trusts contain two essential features: “communication by the deceased person to […]
What happens if you have been bitten by a dog? What are the legal consequences for the dog owner? In British Columbia, a plaintiff who has been bitten by a dog can establish liability against the dog owner under the scienter doctrine, through negligence, or pursuant to the Occupiers Liability Act. Under scienter, the law […]
Ski-hill Lift Tickets – Liability, Unilateral Contracts, Negligence Exclusion In certain situations, such as obtaining a lift ticket for a ski-hill, “unilateral contracts” are used by one of the parties to the contract (i.e., the ski hill) which set out specific conditions the other party (i.e., the consumer) must accept if the consumer wants to […]
What happens to spousal support when the person making the payments (the “Payor”) passes away? Does the spousal support die along with the Payor or does the obligation survive, binding the estate of the Payor? When married or common-law couples end their relationship, sometimes spousal support arises. Spousal support is payment from one spouse to […]
Child Support Obligations Even if not Married? Is there potential for child support obligations even if you are not the child’s biological parent. Yes. Similarly, can there be child support obligations even if you are not living with the child? Yes. For a stepparent to have support obligations the following must be true: You must […]
Confidentiality of Medical Records You have recently been injured due to another person’s negligence (the “Incident”). The injuries are ongoing and starting to affect your daily living. You are considering starting a lawsuit but are hesitant because of a story you heard from your friend when they started a lawsuit. The friend told you that […]
Does Shared Custody Mean No Child Support? In Canada, child support obligations are usually dictated by the federal child support guidelines. The guidelines work on the principle that both parents should share the same portion of their income with their children as if they lived together. The guidelines set out monthly child support amounts in […]
Does a Child Get To Choose Which Parent They Will Live With? When parents separate an obvious and perhaps most important decision is where the children of the relationship are going to live. Any decisions about the time the child will spend with their parents have to be made in the best interests of the […]
Wills – No-Contest Clause Validity A no-contest clause in a Will attempts to limit a beneficiary’s ability to challenge the Will. An example of such a provision would be: To X but if X directly or indirectly attempts to contest or oppose the validity of this Will, then X shall forfeit his or her right […]