Trust Issues: A Re-examination of Often Overlooked Foundational Concepts 2025

Product Type: Course

This course has no current sessions.

DescriptionMore DetailAgenda

Join us for a comprehensive and practical look at essential trust concepts

—Rebroadcasts—
On the rebroadcast date, you will have until midnight of that rebroadcast date to access the course. Please note that technical support will be available during regular CLEBC business hours.

Last Kick at the Can Series 2025
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Friday, December 19, 2025

(Original webinar date: June 25, 2025)

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Who should attend: Lawyers who practice in the area of estate planning, estate administration, and estate litigation

Learning level: All levels

In the chaos of modern trusts practice, it's easy to forget the importance of foundational concepts.

Join us for an intensive one-day course designed for all levels of trusts and estates lawyers, both litigators and planners, who want to further develop their understanding of core trusts concepts that don't get enough attention.

You'll gain advanced insights and practical guidance on critical topics such as trustee liability (and the myth of the dual legal personality in BC), the limited scope of inherent trustee powers, the nature of bare trusts and secret trusts, and vesting indefeasibly.

After taking this program, you will:

be aware of bare trusts
gain knowledge of secret trusts
understand issues regarding trustee liability
be aware of trustee powers
have an update on vesting indefeasibly
gain knowledge of trustee decision-making

Law Society of BC CPD Hours: 6 hours (this course will contain a minimum of 1 hour pertaining to professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and/or practice management)

Course Chair
Alison Oxtoby — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

*Last Kick at the Can 2025*
Rebroadcast	$579
Rebroadcast Articled Student	$289

Are you a member of the Indigenous legal community (lawyer/Articled Student/legal support staff/paralegal) or a non-lawyer Indigenous community member?
We value your contributions and encourage your participation in all of our programs. To increase accessibility, we offer a 50% discount* to all Indigenous lawyers/Articled Students/legal support staff/paralegals and a limited number of free online registrations to non-lawyer Indigenous community members. (*discount applies to Regular prices, not Early Bird prices). Please contact Customer Service to find out more.

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Registration includes an electronic copy of the reference materials.

CLEBC Program Lawyer*
Nadia Myerthall
nmyerthall@cle.bc.ca
*non-practising

Course Chair
Alison Oxtoby — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chair
Alison Oxtoby is a partner at Fasken, where she works in the areas of trusts, wills & estates and tax-planned corporate reorganizations. She has been working in this area for over 25 years, and has had the opportunity to experience the practice from a variety of perspectives—at a large national firm in Vancouver, at a boutique firm in a smaller center, and in-house at a bank—enjoying the benefits and suffering the challenges of each, but always with a passion for the law.

Alison is a frequent presenter for a number or organizations, including CLEBC. She is also an active member of the legal community, having served as chair of the STEP Okanagan Chapter and an Executive Committee Member for the STEP Vancouver Branch, chair of the CBA's Okanagan Wills & Trusts Section, president of the Kelowna Estate Planning Society, and in various roles with the CBA BC Branch.

Faculty
Scott Boucher — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Fiona Hunter — Horne Coupar LLP, Victoria
Scott Kerwin — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Amy A. Mortimore, KC — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
David G. Thompson — Thorsteinssons LLP, Vancouver

Course Materials Contributor
Jonathan E. Fung — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Nadia Myerthall — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Alison Oxtoby — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Bare Trusts: The Bare Necessities (9:10 – 10:00)

key aspects of bare trusts
distinguishing bare trusts from other arrangements
challenging bare trust examples
tax issues facing bare trusts

Alison Oxtoby — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Secrets Trusts (10:00 – 10:50)

what are they
possible uses in BC

Amy A. Mortimore, KC — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (10:50 – 11:05)

Issues Regarding Trustee Liability (11:05 – 12:00)

the myth of a dual trustee legal personality in BC
protecting trustees and trust assets from creditors
concerns and consequences regarding breaches of trust

Scott Boucher — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH (12:00 – 12:40)

Trustee Powers (12:40 – 1:45)

what are powers and duties
how may powers can be exercised
types of powers (statutory and inherent)
limiting the exercise of powers
trustee exemption clauses and dealing with conflicts of interest

Fiona Hunter — Horne Coupar LLP, Victoria

Vesting Indefeasibly to Avoid the 21-Year Rule (1:45 – 2:45)

using indefeasible vesting to
- outwait a 75(2)/107(4.1) problem
- provide a 20% interest to non-resident beneficiaries
legislative framework
CRA positions
power of trustee to vest indefeasibly
ramifications of vesting indefeasibly

David G. Thompson — Thorsteinssons LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:45 – 3:00)

Trustee Decision-making (3:00 – 3:55)

discretionary trusts and informed decision-making
the joint-action rule of co-trusteeship, and uunanimous vs. majority decision-making
delegating trustee duties
powers of appointment held by trustees
Toigo Estate decision and "momentous decisions"

Scott Kerwin — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

Closing Remarks (3:55 – 4:00)

Alison Oxtoby — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

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Trust Issues: A Re-examination of Often Overlooked Foundational Concepts 2025

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