Top 5 Reasons Why You Need a Will
1. You Decide Who Your Assets Go To A Will allows you to decide who you want, and who you don’t want, to include as a beneficiary to receive your assets on your death. Without a Will, your assets will be distributed according to Alberta’s legislative framework, which may include individuals whom you do not... Read More
Forced Sale of Jointly Owned Property: Partition and Sale in Alberta
In Alberta, you can force the sale of jointly owned property. Section 15 of the Law of Property Act allows a co-owner of property to apply to the court for the sale or division of property. A co-owner is someone who is listed on title as a “joint-tenant” or a “tenant in common”. On application... Read More
Top 10 Reasons to Get a Severance Package Reviewed by an Employment Lawyer
1. Did the company only offer the minimum termination pay under the Employment Standards Code? Most employees are owed common law notice rather than just the minimum legislated amounts under the Employment Standards Code. This is assessed by looking at a variety of factors such as length of service, age, title, etc. Even if your employer... Read More
COVID-19: Can Employers legally require their employees to be vaccinated?
The Government of Alberta declared a state of Public Health Emergency on September 15, 2021, and announced new directives to combat the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this, employers continue to consider whether they can impose a mandatory vaccination requirement of their existing and new employees. Employer’s Obligations Employers have a positive legal duty... Read More
What’s the Difference Between Civil, Family & Criminal Law?
Which is worse? Getting served with a civil suit, i.e., being sued – or being charged with a crime? It’s hard to say. There are different issues that require different lines of analysis, different arguments which result in different outcomes. You might have watched various TV shows and gotten a bit confused by the legal... Read More
How Criminal Charges Affect Child Custody in Alberta
There are many different ways that criminal and family law come together, and one of those areas is child custody. If you find yourself in court over a custody dispute, there are many different factors your judge will consider when granting custody. Can your criminal charges affect whether or not you lose custody of your... Read More
Alberta COVID-19 Vaccinations & the Workplace
We are now in the thick of Canadians being able to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Many employers and employees are now wondering if an employer can require their employees to get vaccinated? The short answer is YES they can, BUT this is subject to some important legal qualifications. As such, employers may only strongly encourage... Read More
Criminal & Family Law: How Do They Intersect?
Criminal and family law may seem like completely different areas of law. However, there are areas where family and criminal law intersect. Emergency protection orders are one of the places where these two areas of law work closely together. With emergency protection orders, Alberta’s family and criminal lawyers overlap as EPOs often come with criminal... Read More
How Has COVID-19 Affected The Legal World in Alberta?
As we enter 2021, we are becoming all too familiar with COVID-19 restrictions and how society has changed. Adherence to public health requirements in order to keep all of us safe from the pandemic has affected the legal world and the operation of court proceedings. As someone charged with a crime or who has to... Read More
COVID Response: Employer Updates to Policies & Employment Agreements
2021 has just started and with a vaccine on the horizon, employers are trying to hang on and hope for the best. Most employers’ businesses are typically slow in January as a rule and it might be a great time to consider what workplace policies, practices and employment agreements need to be updated, supplemented or... Read More