TWO PROGRAMS: Digital Necromancy: Ghostbots, Grief, and the Future of Estate Planning AND The Family Cottage: Planning for Love, Legacy, and the Inevitable Disagreement

Digital Necromancy: Ghostbots, Grief, and the Future of Estate Planning examines the emerging estate planning issues created by AI-generated “Ghostbots” that recreate or simulate a deceased person’s likeness, voice, personality, or communications. The presentation highlights human grief concerns, legal uncertainty around privacy, reputation, ownership, control, digital assets, and post-mortem personality rights, along with developing international responses to AI and synthetic media. It offers practical guidance for estate planning lawyers on raising these issues with appropriate clients and considering “Do/Don’t Bot Me” clauses, digital legacy guardians, funding terms, deactivation instructions, and drafting limits while the law continues to develop. 

The Family Cottage: Planning for Love, Legacy, and the Inevitable Disagreement examines cottage succession and co-ownership planning through the legal, financial, and family dynamics that make recreational properties difficult to divide or transfer. The presentation highlights ownership structures, co-ownership agreements, spousal and matrimonial home issues under Ontario’s Family Law Act, life interests, trust and corporate ownership, tax-sensitive planning, dispute resolution, and estate planning integration. It offers practical guidance for solicitors on asking the right client questions, documenting use and expense rules, planning exits and buyouts, coordinating wills and powers of attorney, and reducing the risk that a family cottage becomes the source of future conflict.