A will that looks proper on paper can still fall apart under real scrutiny. We walk through a striking Court of Appeal decision where a 92‑year‑old’s revised will took 18 nieces and nephews from life‑changing inheritances to token gifts, while siblings stood to gain over a million each. The key isn’t drama; it’s doctrine. When circumstances around a will raise well‑grounded suspicion—undue influence, unclear capacity, or radical shifts without explanation—the usual presumption of validity drops away, and the burden flips to the person pushing the will to prove it’s sound.

We unpack how that burden‑shifting works, why “residue” can hide huge sums, and what evidence is needed to show the testator actually understood the size and consequences of their choices. You’ll hear how earlier documents, contradictory statements, and who drafted instructions can become powerful facts. In the end, the appellate court restored the original 2001 will, returning substantial shares to the nieces and nephews and offering a roadmap for spotting red flags in estate planning.

Then we change gears to civil costs in British Columbia. A neighbour dispute over excavation damage led to a modest award in the Supreme Court, raising hard questions about forum selection, mitigation duties, and how costs can swing based on strategy and behaviour. One twist: the self‑represented plaintiffs relied on AI, which produced fake case citations. Thankfully, counsel caught the hallucinations immediately, but there were still cost consequences—and a clear lesson. Use AI as a starting point, never an authority. Verify every citation on CanLII, read the full text, and note up decisions to see what the law is today, not yesterday.

If you care about clean estate planning, sound litigation strategy, and staying safe with legal tech, this conversation is your checklist. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What part challenged your assumptions most?

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

What happens when a charity’s promise of affordable homeownership collides with tenancy law, a defendant’s faith collides with courtroom rules, and a tiny ownership share collides with a big tax bill? We dig into three BC Court of Appeal storylines that ripple through daily life, showing how legal reasoning protects public purpose, fair trials, and housing policy.

First, we unpack a pivotal ruling that keeps Habitat for Humanity’s early occupancy model alive. A participant who entered a home through sweat equity and income-based “occupancy fees” argued she was a tenant protected by the Residential Tenancy Act. The Court of Appeal took a purposive view: those flexible, sometimes zero-dollar payments weren’t rent, and the agreement aimed at ownership, not tenancy. By restoring the original adjudicator’s call, the court preserved a pathway for families to move toward buying, without forcing a charity into a role it wasn’t designed to fill.

Next, we tackle the sharp line between mental illness and trial fitness. A woman facing a firearm charge held intense religious beliefs, rejected medication, and said Jesus would represent her. The Crown claimed she was unfit; the judge said she understood the nature and consequences of proceedings and could communicate with counsel. The takeaway is clear: the law presumes fitness and respects even poor or unconventional choices unless a mental disorder blocks basic comprehension. Faith-informed thinking isn’t the same as being unable to have a fair trial.

Finally, we clarify a costly misconception about the foreign buyer tax. A couple split title 95/5 between a Canadian and a foreign national, hoping the surcharge would apply only to the small share. The court said the tax hits the full property value when any buyer meets the foreign buyer definition, reflecting legislative intent to deter workarounds through fractional title or trusts. If you’re structuring a purchase, this ruling sets expectations and helps avoid expensive surprises.

If you found these insights useful, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review telling us which ruling changed your mind.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.

A small BC registry faced an outsized problem: one litigant’s avalanche of quasi‑legal letters and “certificates” that looked official enough to demand hours or days of staff time to sort, scan, and check. We trace how the Attorney General sought an injunction and how the court landed on a careful middle ground—no more bulk mail, but full access for legitimate filings in person, by agent, or through Court Services Online, with authority to discard items that don’t meet the Rules of Court. It’s a practical fix aimed at protecting open courts from being gamed by invented paperwork, without closing the door on real claims.

From there, we pivot to the high‑stakes world of civil forfeiture and unexplained wealth orders in British Columbia. Unlike criminal forfeiture, these tools can target property without a conviction and sometimes on reasonable suspicion alone. We break down how the civil standard shifts burdens, why Section 8 privacy arguments matter, and what “in rem” actions mean when the state goes after assets rather than people. You’ll hear how cross‑border conduct can still count as “unlawful activity,” what judicial discretion really looks like at this threshold, and why “constitutionally permissible” isn’t the same as wise policy.

Across both stories runs a shared question: how do we keep the justice system open, efficient, and fair when it’s pulled between access and abuse, privacy and enforcement? We offer clear explanations, grounded examples, and practical context to help you form your own view on filing limits, registry triage, property rights, and the true cost of suspicion‑based powers. If this conversation helps you see the legal system with sharper edges, share it with a friend, subscribe for more thoughtful breakdowns, and leave a review to tell us where you stand.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.