Sea to Sky Law Blog

Avoiding court battles is ideal, and many disputes can be resolved through negotiation, mediation, or litigation. With over 30 years of experience, SEA TO SKY LAW Group has helped thousands across BC. Success in settlements and trials depends on strong evidence—especially documents, as human memory can be limited and biased. The first crucial step in resolving any dispute is gathering the necessary paperwork to support your case.

A PLAN TO ACHIEVE YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS!   It is that time of year again.  Remember that failing to plan is planning to fail.  Most of us do not make resolutions because we are just recycling the past ones we never completed, or we are starting the year with the negative assumption that we w...

How do I solve a dispute without an expensive trial?  In general, there are only two methods to solve every dispute - either make a deal or ask the court to make a decision. Negotiation on our own is often difficult while professional problem solvers like mediators and lawyers are often successf...

What is the difference between criminal law and civil law? Civil law is when people and businesses are suing another individual or business or even a government for a remedy. For example, if you are injured in a car accident or assaulted or someone trespasses or causes damages or a cheque is NSF...

Why does the court process seem slow and expensive? For justice to be seen to be done, the judge must hear all views before determining the facts proven by the evidence. ​The parties, not the court, have the evidentiary burden of presenting the evidence required to prove the facts they want the...

Life is not smooth sailing. Your insurance broker can give you all the stats about why you should have accident insurance and critical health insu...

There are two types of challenges to a Will = you might be concerned about the distribution eg who gets what, and or you might be concerned about how the estate is being administered ...

Did you know that we offer mediation and arbitration services as well as support if you already have a mediator?  It is always worth trying mediation because statistics show that almost any dispute can be reduced if not resolved ...

If you have a properly made written Will then in BC you can apply for probate by the desk order process which is when you can obtain a court order without a hearing. If the registry staff confirms you have filed all the required docu...

In BC, normally your Last Will & Testament is valid if it is a document you sign at the end with two adult witnesses. Your Will is valid upon being correctly made but it is not effective until your death because of course you could change it at any t...

I have over 30 successful years of experience helping thousands of different people resolve their disputes, both business & personal, whether with a personal partner or a business partner. After more than 30 years of solving disputes, I encourage my clients to try mediation when possible to at le...

When families separate, often a pet is involved. In BC, a pet is considered property which meant that, if the parents could not otherwise agree, the Court could only apply the law involving the division of assets. For example, if a pet was owned by one of the spouses before the marriage started...

A Power of Attorney (POA) is very flexible; there are many types and uses of a POA both business and personal because you can make a POA with only limited power, restricted in time and or task, or give an unrestricted general power where your designate can do anything you can do. Most know that...

TRUST TAX TROUBLE It is tax season and a new wrinkle to consider is the change by CRA to trust reporting. The change appears to be that even "bare" trusts must file a tax return even if there was no income. A Bare Trust can be created as easily as you being added to your parent's bank account to...

​It is difficult to protect your personal information just from normal daily internet use but obviously what is much worse is when an EX posts nude images of you out of spite, known as "revenge porn".  Now there is a new option to combat the wron...

I promised in my post about custody to talk about family violence. In addition to common law torts like assault, there is specific legislation in family law that defines violence. In Canada, there is both federal and provincial legislation including the federal Divorce Act and in British Columb...

Is your Pooch considered property? In a BC family separation, a pet was considered property which meant that the Court had to apply the law dividing assets. For example, if a pet was owned by one of the spouses before the marriage started then the pet could be considered excluded property and or...

With over 30 years of successful experience practicing family law, I have seen many changes to the law over the decades. A major change in BC was the 2013 Family Law Act which replaced the historical custody battle with an emphasis on a child-first analysis. Now both parents can have guardiansh...

A Power of Attorney (POA) can be, with the correct wording, unrestricted in both the duration of time and scope of task. Thus people will insist their appointment by an enduring unrestricted POA is enough for them to make health decisions for the donor, and arguably they could be correct. Histo...

ARE CORPORATIONS IMMORTAL? Unlike all humans, corporations can in theory live forever - so long as you comply with all regulatory requirements. For example, if you do not file the required annual report every year then the Corporate Registry can "strike" your corporation, like stopping its heart...

WHAT IS PROBATE - IS IT ALWAYS NEEDED Apparently, less than half of us have a Will, or worse the Will is not current because circumstances have changed! You should critique your estate planning documents at least once a year and definitely upon any major change in your life eg change of assets, c...

Disputes are solved by agreement or by court order after determining the relevant facts and law. Both dispute-solving options require first a determination of the facts; the facts then determine the applicable law. The basic facts of WHO did WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE provide an excellent framework to...

2024 Local business person of the year BOSTON, MA: March 5, 2024 -- Alignable's 2024 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest reached unparalleled participation levels, logging a whopping 309,000+ votes, 64,000+ recommendations, and an unheard of number of local winners – over 5,100 across the ...

A couple meeting with a lawyer for estate planning The Importance of Estate Planning in British Columbia: Whether you're just starting a family or approaching retirement in British Columbia, estate planning is a critical step in protecting your hard-earned assets and ensuring your loved ones are...