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Wills & Estates Lawyer AMA


Mountebank

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ZukoJD
  • Law Student
15 hours ago, Mountebank said:

In Ontario, it's a growth area that is underserved. However, the interest in the area is certainly growing and I'm seeing more people moving into it.

And yes, estate litigation is exhausting.

Would you discourage a young lawyer from getting into it? 

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Mountebank
  • Lawyer
28 minutes ago, ZukoJD said:

Would you discourage a young lawyer from getting into it? 

Not at all. If you have the temperament and interest, it can be very rewarding.

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  • 2 months later...
GoBigOrGoHome
  • Law Student

Is there any plain language resources you can think of that will help understand wills and estates law (well the first year stuff from Property law. I get the cases, but the terminology I find confusing and seem to be blurring concepts. I have found helpful reading materials for torts and contracts but nothing yet for this. 

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Mountebank
  • Lawyer
On 11/19/2022 at 4:01 PM, GoBigOrGoHome said:

Is there any plain language resources you can think of that will help understand wills and estates law (well the first year stuff from Property law. I get the cases, but the terminology I find confusing and seem to be blurring concepts. I have found helpful reading materials for torts and contracts but nothing yet for this. 

Not really. The law of trusts (which isn't really law at all. It's equity! Is the Court sitting as a court of construction or a court of probate? What implications does the answer have on the rules of evidence? It's all so much fun! NB that the probate jurisdiction is actually ecclesiastical in origin, which is why in matters of probate, the Court's jurisdiction is inquisitorial in nature and the rules of evidence, even the admissibility of hearsay, quite generous - some modern jurisdictions, such as the Bailiwick of Guernsey, retained a distinct ecclesiastical court well into the 21st century! Can you believe that?!), particularly, is complex and, in many areas, quite ancient.

A Wills & Estates and/or a Trusts course at your law school is the best resource to develop a basic understanding. If you really want to read ahead, you could borrow one of the Oosterhoff books from your law library. These are written with students in mind.

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  • 1 year later...
elars
  • Lawyer
On 5/31/2022 at 8:41 AM, Darwinter said:

Thank you! I was wondering if the materials were actually helpful. My main (maybe only) reason for doing it is just to expand my knowledge in the area. I also would have the courses covered so it would only cost me the time to do it really. 

 

 

@Darwinter I'm now working in the areas of trusts and estates and I'm going through the TEP program. As @Mountebank has said, the materials are quite good, but it's a lot of work. However, I think getting the designation will be worth it for me in the long run.

Edited by elars
Grammar
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thrill
  • Law Student
On 8/23/2022 at 8:55 AM, Mountebank said:

Not at all. If you have the temperament and interest, it can be very rewarding.

when you say temperament, do you mean from boredom, or?

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Mountebank
  • Lawyer
On 1/13/2024 at 4:39 PM, thrill said:

when you say temperament, do you mean from boredom, or?

Yeah I suppose I do. I don't know, it just seems like a lot of people aren't into it.

It's one of those areas, like residential real estate, where you need a heck of a lot of clients because each file isn't worth that much. And the rare lucrative file is typically more frustrating than interesting.

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