our 10th year
blog anniversary
My blog of July 8, 2025 touched on a few cases where the courts had to step in because beneficiary designations for registered accounts weren’t drafted or updated properly. Case-law suggests that revoking one’s beneficiary designations may also require court intervention if not properly considered by the drafting lawyer. The
In June 2025, my colleague, Michael G. von Keitz, wrote a blog titled ‘1,270 Days Later: The Sequel to Substantial Compliance in Ontario’. His blog reviewed a trio of cases (Salmon v Rombough, 2024 ONSC 1186, O’Neill Estate, 2024 ONSC 2228, and Urback v Canadian Cancer Society et al., 2025
In Ontario, individuals may designate beneficiaries for their registered accounts—such as TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs, and FHSAs (see Part III of the Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 (SLRA)). This designation ensures that, upon the account holder’s death, the proceeds are paid directly to the named beneficiary, thereby bypassing