Law Times

Many lawyers lack a will despite growing concern BY JULIUS MELNITZER For Law Times mid concern about the 56 per cent of Canadi- ans who don't have a will, it seems even many lawyers haven't gotten the message despite the Ontario Bar Associa- tion's designation of November as Make a Will month. "The percentage of lawyers who don't have wills is about the same as the general population," says Jordan Atin, counsel at Hull & Hull LLP in Toronto. And there doesn't seem to have been much progress on the issue over time. The fact that a majority of Canadians don't have wills first came to light in a 2012 LawPRO survey. Some three years later, ac- cording to an August 2015 survey by CIBC, the numbers haven't changed significantly. "Given the bucket-list mental- ity that has permeated our culture, it seems counterintuitive that the majority of us don't have our af- fairs in order," says Atin. "Aggravating the situation is that, for the first time in history, we are living long enough to lose our mental capacity through dis- eases like Alzheimer's and other dementias." Apparently, there's an intimi- dation factor at play. "In many cases, people don't like lawyers to begin with," says Atin. "They're busy, they think it will be a huge and involved process, and they don't like the idea that they'll have to talk about things they don't want to talk about, like what happens when I'm not here? And many of these factors apply to lawyers, particularly the ones who don't practise in the wills and es- tates area." Although making a will is an easy thing to put off, it's not as if doing so is off the radar. "Everyone knows they need a will, above all if they have kids," says Atin. "Sometimes, I think the firm should open a booth at Pearson [International Airport] so people can do their wills while they're waiting for their f lights." ARE YOU RECEIVING CANADIAN LEGAL NEWSWIRE? Keep abreast of essential legal news, opinions and analysis with our electronic newswire. VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM SIGN UP FOR FREE From the publisher of and CLNW_LT_Nov2_15.indd 1 2015-10-28 8:33 AM Habeas corpus allowed for immigration detainees Lawyers hail appeal ruling that provides new remedy to fight detention BY NEIL ETIENNE Law Times mmigration lawyers are lauding an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that will allow immigration detainees to apply to the Superior Court of Justice for habeas cor- pus to challenge their incarceration. It's a concept that failed before the courts in the past, including the 1995 case involving Wahid Khalil Ba- roud that lawyer Barbara Jackman unsuccessfully argued at the time. She says there's some vindication now that the appeal court has found otherwise 20 years later in a case in which she acted as a representative for one of the four ap- pellants in Chaudhary v. Canada (Public Safety and Emer- gency Preparedness). "It's an important ruling in that it provides immigra- tion detainees direct access to the court, which they didn't have until this decision," says Jackman, noting detainees seeking review of their detentions can now apply directly to the Superior Court. The change, she notes, will allow for a speedier hearing of matters and submissions of evi- dence and "puts the onus on the government to justify why they're keeping the person detained for so long." According to Jackman, the decision brings relief to some people who have been in detention for years — some of them for almost a decade — without knowing how long it would last. Under the current system, detainees get a first review for potential release by the immigration division of the Immigration and Refugee Board after 48 hours and then another in seven days if the first was unsuccessful. All sub- sequent detention reviews take place every 30 days there- after. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows CABINET MATERIAL Trudeau has plenty of talent for justice post P7 FOCUS ON Real Estate Law P8 'Traditionally, these cases keep getting bumped back to the Federal Court and many times the remedy is not there,' says Robin Seligman. Photo: Robin Kuniski See Guardianship, page 2 See Appeal, page 2 'Dementia makes for the hardest cases, all of which could have been avoided if the indi- vidual had just prepared a power of attorney, which is a simple document,' says Jordan Atin. PM #40762529 & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM $5.00 • Vol. 26, No. 34 November 2, 2015 TORONTO | BARRIE | HAMILTON | KITCHENER 1-866-685-3311 | mcleishorlando.com cLeish Orlando_LT_Jan_20_14.indd 1 14-01-15 3:15 PM L AW TIMES I A OBA HONOUR Patricia Jackson receives litigation award P5

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