Law Office Of Hamid Farooq

02/17/2022

01/18/2016

Getting Your Will in Order

In addition to Family Law, Hamid Law Office is proud to be able to create and update Wills and Powers of Attorney for you and members of your family.

A Will is one of the most important documents a person can ever prepare. So it is alarming to consider how many people do not have one.

Why does everyone need a Will? There are several answers to this question, but here are a few important reasons to consider:

Control of Your Estate

A Will, which only comes into force upon your death, is a legal document wherein you can dictate how and to whom your assets are to be distributed. Anyone who dies without a Will is automatically forced to follow legislation governing these matters. By not having a Will, you are, in essence, surrendering control to the courts and/or government, and allowing them to decide how your estate will get divided among your heirs. The governments’ legislation will also dictate who your heirs will be.

Nomination and Appointment of an Estate Trustee

One of the most important clauses in a Will is the nomination and appointment of an Estate Trustee. The Estate Trustee, typically a loved one, is the person responsible for dividing the estate and who will look after your affairs once you pass on. No estate can be distributed without the appointment of an Estate Trustee. By preparing your Will in advance, you get to determine who you wish to appoint as Estate Trustee.

Delays and Cost

When someone dies without a Will, their family is obliged to commence a court action and seek an order from the court appointing someone as the Estate Trustee. Until an appointment is ordered by the court, all of your assets will be frozen.
This process usually causes many delays as family members will have to follow court procedures and timelines. This can cause headaches to family member who are left struggling to deal with the deceased’s estate. All of this aggravation is preventable as long as you have a Will and have appointed an Estate Trustee.

Commencing a court action also leads to legal fees. By preparing a Will you will be saving your estate, and loved ones, avoidable costs.

Children

To all parents with minor children, it is crucial that you prepare a Will. In your Will, you must address significant details such as who will be the guardians of your child(ren) and how their inheritance should be managed and used.

Another important point to consider is that, according to law, children are entitled to control any inheritance at the age of eighteen. By preparing a Will parents have an opportunity to dictate how the inheritance is to be distributed amongst their children and at what age. Many parents consider eighteen to be too young to manage an inheritance and therefore decide to choose a more appropriate age.

10/12/2015

Family Law Court Procedure

The Family Court Rules
The Ontario Family Law Rules are the governing procedural rules for family law matters. The primary objective of these Rules is to deal with cases justly so that all parties are treated equally and fairly. The Rules are designed to encourage the parties to settle matters prior to trial by holding multiple conferences before a judge, for the purposes of identifying the contentious issues, the evidence and exploring the possibility of settlement.
Litigation may be necessary to resolve issues between the parties when they are unable to amicably reach a global settlement or when one party is unreasonable or uncooperative.
Starting a Family Court Action
Application
A family court action is commenced by filing with the court and serving a document called an Application on the other party. The party commencing the court action is called the Applicant. The other party is called the Respondent. The Application contains the Applicant's claims and the supporting material facts.
Answer
The Respondent has 30 days from the date of service of the Application to serve and file an Answer. The Answer contains the Respondent's position with respect to the claims and material facts contained in the Application. The Answer also contains the Respondent's claims against the Applicant and the supporting material facts.
Reply
The Applicant may serve and file a Reply, if necessary, within 10 days of being served with the Answer to deal with any new issues raised in the Answer.
First Appearance
If the Application is commenced in the Ontario Court of Justice the first court appearance may be what is called a First Appearance. At the First Appearance the parties attend before a Clerk of the Court to set a date for a Case Conference.
Case Conference
Except in the case of urgency, such as if access to the children is being denied or if there is a danger that one party may leave the jurisdiction with the children, the first Court appearance before a judge is usually the Case Conference.
A Case Conference is an informal meeting at the courthouse between the parties, their lawyers and a judge. The objective of the Case Conference is to encourage the parties to settle all or some of the issues or at least narrow the issues. The discussions at the Case Conference are confidential.
If all or some of the issues are settled at the Case Conference the parties usually sign Minutes of Settlement and a court Order is obtained pursuant to the Minutes of Settlement.
If all the issues are not settled at the Case Conference, then the court action continues to the next stage which is usually the Settlement Conference.
Settlement Conference
A Settlement Conference is held after a Case Conference in a court action. It is a second informal meeting with a judge. At the Settlement Conference financial disclosure is expected to be completed and the parties should be ready to engage in serious settlement discussions with mutual offers to settle.
Motion
During the course of a court case there are often several issues that must be resolved on a temporary basis prior to the trial such as support and custody. These issues may be dealt with by way of a Motion or they may settle at a Case Conference or Settlement Conference or out of court.
A Motion is a formal request by a party to the court to obtain a Court Order. The party bringing the Motion is called the moving party. The party responding to the motion is called the responding party. The moving party serves on the responding party and files with the court a Notice of Motion Form and an Affidavit setting out the facts in support of the Motion. The responding party may file an Affidavit in reply to the moving party's Motion and Affidavit. The responding party may also bring a Motion. Motions can be done on fairly short notice, even within a few days. Generally, no oral evidence is allowed at the hearing of a Motion.
Questioning
During the proceeding, the parties may ask the court for an Order for questioning, which allows one party to question the other party under oath on any relevant issue in the proceeding. This process was formerly known as Examination for Discovery. Although the name is different, the process is the same. The parties will arrange a mutually convenient date, time and location for the questioning. Once the questioning is complete and all undertakings to provide further information and/or documents are complied with, the case can proceed to the next stage.
Trial Management Conference
Prior to trial being held, the parties must attend a Trial Management Conference. The parties and each of their lawyers appear before a Judge who will not be the Trial Judge. The Trial Management Conference is a final effort to encourage the parties to settle the issues or at least narrow the issues as much as possible. If the case does not settle, the amount of time required for the trial is discussed and a trial date is set.
Trial
If the Application is not settled at the Trial Management Conference, the parties proceed to Trial. At trial, witnesses may be called to present oral evidence. Each party has the opportunity to cross-examine all witnesses called by the other party. Once all the evidence is presented and the lawyer for each party has made closing arguments, the Judge will make his or her judgment. Sometimes the judge will make the decision at the end of the trial and sometimes the judge will take some time to consider the matter further and will render a decision later on.
Costs
Generally, the winning party in a court action, whether on a motion or at a trial, is awarded Costs. What this means is that the losing side will pay some or all of the winning side's legal fees and disbursements. Which party receives costs and how much are at the discretion of the judge.

09/30/2015

Family Law Court Procedure

08/09/2015

died Without a Will

If you die without a Will, the law says that you have died "intestate," which means that you left no instructions as to how your property is to be divided and distributed. In these circumstances, the Ontario Succession Law Reform Act governs how your property will be distributed to your surviving relatives. Even if you want your property divided according to provincial law, you should still have a Will because it will reduce delays and expenses involved in wrapping up your affairs

08/09/2015

Importance Of Will

Every adult who owns assets or has a spouse or young children should have a will. Surprisingly, many people don’t have one. The few hours that you spend with a lawyer planning your estate could save your spouse, children and other beneficiaries much time, effort and money. By not having a will, you lose control over who gets how much of your estate and when. You also give up the right to appoint a guardian of your choice for any young children you have. And the costs to administer your estate will be drastically increased

07/18/2015