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Login to watch this video if you have a subscription. Learn more about subscriptions.This video is Part 1 of a two-part program on risk mitigation in estate planning and administration. Moderated by Jordan Atin, the session focuses on preventing risk at the estate planning stage and examines the common causes of professional liability claims against lawyers in wills and estates practice.
Raymond Leclair reviews professional liability data and explains the most common reasons lawyers face claims. Drawing on claims statistics and professional experience, he highlights issues such as inadequate investigation, poor communication with clients, drafting errors, and the failure to properly document instructions. The discussion also addresses why wills and estates work is an increasingly significant area of risk as demographic change and intergenerational wealth transfers lead to more contested estates.
Joining the discussion, Ian Hull shares practical strategies for reducing exposure to claims. The panel discusses best practices for client interviews, documenting instructions and rationale, assessing testamentary capacity, and maintaining thorough file notes and reporting letters. Particular attention is given to high-risk planning situations such as joint assets, lifetime gifts to beneficiaries, unequal distributions among children, and the risks associated with assigning specific assets without considering future changes in ownership, value, or tax consequences.
Through examples drawn from practice, professional liability experience, and audience questions, this first session provides practical guidance for strengthening the estate planning process and reducing the likelihood of disputes or claims arising after a client’s death.
Jordan is a Certified Specialists in Estates and Trusts Law and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. Lexpert rates Jordan as one of its top recommended estate lawyers in Canada as well as being rated as a Best Lawyer in Canada. In addition to his planning and administration practice, Jordan is Counsel to Hull & Hull LLP and an experienced estates mediator. He is a Past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association - Trust and Estates Section and a full member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Jordan was the inaugural winner of the OBA’s Hoffstein Prize in recognition of his contributions and achievements in the area of wills, trusts and estates.
Daniel's interest and passion for resuscitation medicine has led him through 25 years of clinical work, teaching, research, and innovation. His academic focus has been on Leadership, crisis decision-making, and cognitive load - a focus that has led to leadership roles ranging from small clinical teams, to the Queen's Department of Critical Care during the COVID pandemic, to co-founding a rapidly growing company.
Daniel has been involved in the establishment of Canada's first training program in Resuscitation Medicine, the CAEP Critical Care Committee, the Critical Care Response Team at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, the Kingston Resuscitation Institute, and with his partner Angela Fallow, starting Custodius, a solution for the will storage challenges that Wills and Estates Lawyers experience
Ian M. Hull co-founded the firm with his father, Rodney Hull, in 1998. Ian also maintains a mediation practice through Hull Estate Mediation Inc.
Ian is a lecturer at the Ontario Bar Admission Course and guest lecturer for the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Ian is also the author of numerous articles and has written four books on estate law issues:
Ian has an LL.B. from the University of Windsor and an Honours B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. He was called to the Bar in 1990. He is a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law and Civil Litigation, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. He was chosen by LawDay as one of the top 60 leading lawyers in Canada in the practice area of Estates and Trusts for the year 2009.
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Ray Leclair joined Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO) in June of 2008 in the role of Vice President, TitlePLUS, and as of May, 2012 became Vice President, Public Affairs, responsible for government relations efforts at LawPRO.
Formerly General Counsel for the Kanata Research Park Corporation, a development company and major commercial landlord in Ottawa, Ray has practised in both major national law firms and as a sole practitioner, and was a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa Law School and Cité Collégiale instructing the French language portion of the real estate law course. He also served for 15 years as the Ottawa senior instructor for the French and English Real Estate Sections of the Bar Admission Course and member of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Solicitor Advisory Group, Licensing Process.
Called to the bar in 1984, Ray is Past-Chair and remains an active participant of both the National Real Property Section of the Canadian Bar Association and of the Real Property Section of the Ontario Bar Association, past Co-Chair and remains a member of the Working Group on Lawyers & Real Estate, and President of the Ontario Real Estate Lawyers Association (ORELA). Former member of the Ontario Bar Association Council, past executive member of CBA’s National Sections Council, past member of its budget committee and formerly Vice President of the North American Bar-related® Title Insurers, past President of the Advisory Committee for the Cité Collégiale Legal Assistants Program. Ray volunteered as Manager of the fundraiser TOM* MensFashion4Hope and a VIP & Sponsor Relations Officer for semi-annual Toronto Men’s Fashion Week (TOM*). Ray is and has been a frequent speaker/presenter, in French or English, in numerous programs on various real estate and other law related topics in Canada and the United States.
*see individual programs and jurisidictional allowances for accredited hours/requirements for Canadian law societies.
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*see individual programs and jurisidictional allowances for accredited hours/requirements for Canadian law societies.
