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BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times A n Ontario judge has found that a deceased woman, who had a $7-million estate, did not mean to revoke her will that made a retirement home's foundation her beneficiary. The decision in Levitz v. Hillel Lodge Long Term Care Founda- tion concerned a lost original will of Sarah Stoller, who died in 2016, and whether the presumption that she had intentionally destroyed her will had been rebutted. Under a will she created in 2010, Stoller made the Hillel Lodge Long Term Care Centre the beneficiary of a brass candelabrum, and the centre's foundation became the sole beneficiary of the residue of her estate. Ontario Superior Court Justice Robyn Ryan Bell found that Stoller did not intentionally destroy her will, confirming the retirement home's foundation as the sole beneficiary. Stoller was not a resident of Hillel Lodge, but she had donated around $85,000 to the foundation during the last five years of her life. Estate lawyers say the decision is a reminder to practitioners who draft wills about the importance of the original will. Lawyers generally used to of- fer to keep original wills in their vaults, but the general practice recently in Ontario has become to encourage clients to take the origi- nals with them. But the decision shows practi- tioners might want to stray away from that or at least communicate to clients in writing the impor- tance of retaining the original will, lawyers say. "If the client is going to take the original will with them, they [need] to keep it in a safe place and [make sure] the original can be lo- cated, and the trustee will know where to find it because a photo- copy will not suffice," says Martin Black, the lawyer who represented Hillel Lodge Long Term Care Centre in the matter. When Stoller created her 2010 will, she told her lawyer she would put it in a safety deposit box, and her lawyer kept a signed copy. But after her death, the original will Lawyer questions time taken to investigate ads BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times A Toronto lawyer who ad- vertised in a publication decried as racist, misogy- nistic and homophobic will face a regulatory meeting at the Law Society of Upper Canada. e LSUC is taking the step against criminal defence lawyer David Faed aer a complaint was filed against him 20 months ago for placing ads in Your Ward News. e Toronto Police Service re- cently arrested James Sears, the editor of the newspaper, and pub- lisher Lawrence St. Germaine, char- ging them with the wilful promo- tion of hatred against an identifiable group, namely Jews and women. Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman, who filed the complaint against Faed, is ques- tioning why the law society's inves- tigation took so long aer he made repeated inquires into the matter, including to LSUC benchers. "Personally, I'm at least as con- cerned that the law society permit- ted such a straightforward issue to drag on forever when discipline is supposed to help lawyers stay on track or get back on it as soon as possible before further harm is done to the profession," Warman says. "at didn't happen here." Warman first noticed that Faed was advertising in Your Ward News in Dec. 2015. He says he con- tacted Faed to express his concerns that he might be contravening the law society's Rules of Professional Conduct concerning harassment, discrimination and advertising for lawyers. But, at the time, Faed told War- man that he would continue adver- tising in the publication. Warman then filed his complaint with the LSUC against Faed in March 2016. "When I first contacted David Faed, he was clear that he had no intention of stopping his adver- tisements in Your Ward News," Warman says. "Maybe he's changed his tune now and told the law society he POLICE OVERSIGHT Enhanced training needed for officers P7 FOCUS ON Personal Injury Law P8 PM #40762529 $5.00 • Vol. 28, No. 38 November 27, 2017 L AW TIMES C O V E R I N G O N T A R I O ' S L E G A L S C E N E • W W W . L A W T I M E S N E W S . C O M CHILD SUPPORT Amendment leaves lawyers disappointed P5 See Wills, page 4 Ruling means $7-million estate will go to long-term care centre Need to retain original wills emphasized Richard Warman is questioning why the law society's investigation into another lawyer took so long after he made repeated inquires into the matter. See Determination, page 4 Lionel Tupman says it is important to know who holds the burden of proof when it comes to rebutting the presumption that a deceased person intended to destroy a will. Photo: Robin Kuniski 9 th Annual Aboriginal Law JOIN OUR FULLY ACCREDITED PROGRAM | EXPAND YOUR NETWORK AND OBTAIN CPD HOURS Register online: www.lexpert.ca/Aboriginal-Law • 416-609-5868 | 1-877-298-5868 *Discount applies to in-class only REGISTER NOW > Untitled-2 1 2017-11-20 8:39 AM www.twitter.com/lawtimes Follow & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM

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