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Kimberly A. Whaley, CS, TEP, LLM
Kimberly A. Whaley is the Founding Partner at WEL PARTNERS. She practices in the areas of Estate, Trusts, Fiduciary Litigation including Power of Attorney Disputes, Contentious and noncontentious Passing of Accounts Applications, Guardianship, Dependants’ Support, and Elder Law.
Kimberly recently was honoured with the 2024 Ontario Bar Association's Award of Excellence in Trusts and Estates Law.
Kimberly is an experienced Mediator, mediating estate and trust related disputes within her practice areas for over 20 years, receiving a certificate from the Institute for Conflict Management, September 2008. Kimberly was inducted to the Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals in December 2021.
Kimberly's firm is ranked nationally by Canadian Lawyer as one of the Top 10 Trusts and Estates Boutique firms in Canada; and has been recognized since 2012 by Global Law Experts, receiving International awards in Trust and Estate Law.
Kimberly is designated as a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law by the Law Society of Ontario and has been peer selected annually since 2008 for inclusion in Best Lawyers in Canada in the practice area of Estates and Trusts. Kim was chosen by Lawday Leading Lawyers as one of the top 60 leading lawyers in Canada in Estates and Trusts. Kim is also a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
Kimberly was inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL) in Vancouver, 2012. She was given the Martindale-Hubbell – BV Distinguished Rating in both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards. Kim is Lexpert ranked in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, an acknowledgement of excellence by peers and colleagues.
Kimberly was awarded the OBA Hoffstein Book Prize Award in 2009, recognizing contributions and achievements by Members of the OBA in Wills, Trusts, Estates, Writing and Teaching.
Kimberly is a Past-Chair of the OBA Trusts & Estates Executive, and Executive Member of the CLE and Institute Executives. Kimberly is the Past Chair of the CBA Elder Law Section and Chair of the OBA Elder Law Section. She is on the Expert Advisory Focus Group for the Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) Law Reform Project as it relates to Ontario’s Capacity and Guardianship Laws and to RDSPs.
Kimberly is designated as a TEP by STEP Worldwide (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). Kimberly is currently serving as STEP Worldwide Council Member representing Canada, having previously served on the Toronto STEP branch executive for many years including terms as Chair and Past-Chair, and has also served as a National Conference Committee Member.
Kimberly is an honourary committee member of The Professional Advisory Group of the Baycrest Foundation. Kimberly is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Toronto. Kimberly has been on the Estate List Users Committee of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at Toronto since its inception in 2003.
Kimberly is a frequent lecturer and has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, Queens University and Western University. She has taught at the Bar Admission Course at Osgoode, and regularly presents at Continuing Legal Education programs for lawyers, in-house financial institutions, Institute of law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO), hospitals, accountants, financial advisors and other organizations and foundations, universities and colleges. Kim maintains a teaching affiliation with the University of Toronto and recently taught classes on the subject of ‘Capacity’ together with Laura Watts in a gerontology course on Law and Aging and on Financial Abuse of the Elderly.
Kimberly participated in the Senior's Roundtable, Ontario Securities Commission "Focus on issues facing seniors managing investments and retirement income" and contributed to the Minister of State for Seniors The Honourable Alice Wong’s Financial Elder Abuse discussion group on "Bill S-4, The Digital Privacy Act (amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and related issues" as well as participating Expert Advisory Panel Focus Group for the Law Commission of Ontario’s "Law Reform Project and consultation as it relates to legal capacity and Ontario’s Capacity and Guardianship Laws and to RDSP’s".
Latest Blog Posts
- Kimberly Whaley and Bryan Gilmartin Receive Harvard Mediation Intensive Certificate
- The Treatment of a Predatory Marriage in a Civil Law Jurisdiction Under the Quebec Civil Code
- Incapable and Capable Rights: The Rights of Adults in Vulnerable Circumstances
- In Memoriam, Judith Wahl, Elder Law Pioneer
- Advisor.ca: Court refuses to force capacity assessment on unwilling senior
- MEDIATE. MEDIATE, MEDIATE.
View all of Kimberly's Blog posts
Recognitions
Publications
- STEP Toronto Connection: “Roach v Todd Contested Passing of Accounts: “Where Did All the Money Go?”, February 2019, Vol. 6 No. 5
- WEL on Dependant’s Support, 2018
- The Advocates Quarterly: “A Lawyer’s Duties and Obligations Where Capacity, Undue Influence, And Vulnerability Are At Issues In A Retainer”, Volume 48, Issue 4, August 2018
- The Advocates Quarterly: “Predatory Marriages” Vol. 48, Issue 3, June 2018
- STEP Trust Quarterly Review, Volume 16, Issue 2, June 2018, Capacity to Reconcile, A New Legal Standard?
- Support Rights and Obligations in Ontario Family Law, Halpern, Chapter -"Support on Death", Thomson Reuters, May 2018
- STEP Toronto Connection: “Ademption by Advancement & the Presumption of Double Portions, Campbell v Evert, 2018 ONSC 593 (CanLII), April 2018, Vol. 5. No. 6.
- Canadian Geriatrics Journal, A Case for the Standardized Assessment of Testamentary Capacity, Vol. 21, Issue, 1 March 2018
- STEP Toronto Connection: “Can an Obligation to Pay Spousal Support Survive the Death of the Recipient Spouse? Marasse Estate (Re), 2017 ABQB 706 (CanLII), February 2018, Vol.5, No. 5
- The Advocates Quarterly: “Independent Legal Advice: Risks Associated with “ILA” Where Undue Influence and Capacity are Complicating Factors” Vol. 47, No. 4, December, 2017
- Histrop Estate Planning Precedents: A Solicitor’s Manual, Solicitor’s Negligence: Estates and Trusts Context, The Myth of a Hierarchy of Decisional Capacity: A Medico-Legal Perspective, November 2017, (2017- Rel.6), 6.1-777
- STEP Toronto Connection: “Retirement Home Vicariously Liable for Employee’s Theft of Older Adult? Hoyle (Estate) v. Gibson-Heath", November 2017, Vol. 5, No. 3
- STEP Toronto Connection: “The B.C. Court of Appeal reviews the “curative powers” of the Court under section 58 of Wills, Estates and Succession Act”, October 2017, Vol. 5, No.2
- STEP Trust Quarterly Review, Volume 15, Issue 1 2017, Independent Legal Advice and Incapacity, Kimberly A. Whaley
- STEP Toronto Connection: “Joint Tenancy Dispute Strikes Again: Severed? Gift? Forms Residue of Estate?”, September 2017 - Vol. 5 No. 1
- Money and Family Law: Capacity to Marry, Co-habit, Separate and Divorce-Part IV, February 2017, Issue 32-2
- Money and Family Law: Capacity to Marry, Co-habit, Separate and Divorce-Part III, January 2017, Issue 32-1
- Money and Family Law: Capacity to Marry, Co-habit, Separate and Divorce-Part II, December 2016, Issue 31-12
- Money and Family Law: Capacity to Marry, Co-habit, Separate and Divorce-Part I, November 2016, Issue 31-11
- Key Developments in Estates and Trusts Law in Ontario, Update on Joint Accounts, Chapter 7, Canada Law Book, 2016 Edition
- LSUC: “How to Make a Dependent’s Support Claim” Update, November 2013 and updated May 2016
- WEL on Powers of Attorney, 2016
- Armstrong, Estate Administration, A Solicitor’s Reference Manual: Fiduciary Accounts And Court Passings: 2016-Rel.4
- Canadian Lawyer, The Elder Law Boom, October 2016
- Single by Choice, Chapter 9, The Law Always Has Its Say, October 2016
- Développements Récents En Successions Et Fiducies, Barreau Du Québec, Service De la Formation Continue, Volume 411, Predatory Marriages, 2016
- The Advocates Quarterly: “Standardizing the Assessment of Testamentary Capacity”, Vol. 46, No. 4, March 2017, Kimberly A. Whaley, Megan Brenkel, Kenneth I. Shulman and Kerri Crawford
- The Advocates Quarterly: “The Myth of a Hierarchy of Decisional Capacity: A Medico-Legal Perspective”, Vol. 45 No. 4, July 2016, Kimberly Whaley, Kenneth I. Shulman and Kerri Crawford
- Estates and Trusts Pension Journal (ETPJ): “Attacking and Defending Gifts” (2016), 35 E.T.P.J.269
- The Advocates Quarterly: “Solicitor’s Negligence: Estates and Trust Context” Volume 45, No.1, February 2016
- WEL Partners on Fiduciary Accounting: Guardianship Accounts, Attorney Accounts, Estate Accounts, Trust Accounts, 2014, Revised 2016, WEL Partners
- Money and Family Law: 2016: Claims Arising out of Later Life Partnerships
- The Advocates’ Journal, “The Landscape of Elder Abuse”, Vol. 34, No. 3, Winter 2015
- The Advocates Quarterly: “Where There’s (Not) a Will: Partial Intestacies and Remedies” co-authored with Ameena Sultan, Volume 44, No. 4, November 2015
- CBC.ca, ‘In Depth’ article: referenced in ‘Marriage-like relationships hard to prove in court, B.C. case shows Sex, love and the courts: When is a spouse a spouse?’ November 1, 2015
- Whaley Estate Litigation on Guardianship, 2015, Whaley Estate Litigation
- Estates and Trusts Pension Journal (ETPJ): “Predatory Marriages – Equitable Remedies”, co-authored with Albert Oosterhoff, Volume 34, No. 3, May 2015
- CBC Broadcasting Centre: Ontario Today, “Disputes over Inheritance” January 15, 2015
- Lawyers Weekly: “Remedy for a Broken Family Promise: Ontario Appeal Court looks at proprietary estoppel in a pair of cottage cases”, December 5, 2014, Vol. 34, No. 29
- Canada Law Book Year in Review, Key Developments in Estates and Trust Law in Ontario, 2014-2015: “Contempt Proceedings in Estate Matters”
- Money and Family Law: “Spousal Claims Against Estate and Other Claims Arising out of Re-Marriages”, Part VI, June, 2014, Issue 29-7
- Money and Family Law: “Spousal Claims Against Estate and Other Claims Arising out of Re-Marriages”, Part II, March, 2014
- Money and Family Law: “Spousal Claims Against Estates and Other Claims Arising out of Re-Marriages”, Part I, December, 2013
- ERAssure Newsletter: “The Fractured Family Estate Litigation in Complex, Blended and Extended Families in an Era of Social and Demographic Change” Issue 15, October, 2013
- Estates and Trusts Pension Journal: “Capacity and the Estate Lawyer: Comparing the Various Standards of Decisional Capacity” E.T. & P.J., Volume 32, No. 3, May, 2013
- Advocates Quarterly Journal: “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Complex Role and Duties of Counsel Appointed Under Section 3 of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992”, Volume 40, Number 3, November 2012
- Advocates Quarterly Journal: “The Intersection of Family and Estates Law: Post-Mortem Claims Made by Modern Day Spouses”, Volume 40, Number 1, June 2012
- Kimberly authored the chapter, “Conundrums in Cognition: Planning for the Future”, in “What Next? Navigating Later Life Transitions”, Senior Solutions, Release 2012
- Kimberly authored the chapter, “Fiduciary Accounts and Court Passings”, in “Armstrong, Estate Administration: A Solicitor’s Reference Manual”, Carswell and Thomson Reuters, Release 2012-13, Vol. 4, p. SLL-32 – SLL-46.58, and Release 2014-15
- Kimberly authored the chapter, “Estates Issues Relating to Ontario Family Law, Property Rights and Obligations.” in “Property Rights and Obligations Under Ontario Family Law”, Canada Law Book, Thomson Reuters, 2012.
- Kimberly authored and edited the Canada Law Book yearly publication “Capacity to Marry and the Estate Plan” in 2010, with co-authors: Dr. Michel Silberfeld, Heather McGee and Helena Likwornik.
- Kimberly is a co-contributor and author of a chapter in the Canada Law Book publication “Key Developments in Estates and Trusts Law in Ontario” published annually since 2008. Kim authors the chapter, “Passings of Accounts, including Contested Passings” and in 2013-2014, “Financial Abuse of Older Adults: Elder Law Issues, Abuses and Potential Remedies”.
- Estates and Trusts Pension Journal: “Life after Death: Modern Genetics and the Estate Claim”, Vol. 28, Number 2, March 2009
- Estates, Trusts and Pensions Journal: “Powers of Attorney and Financial Abuse” Vol. 27, Number 4, September 2008 Estates and Trusts Pension Journal: The Use of DNA in Contested Estate Matters, E.T. & P.J. Volume 23, Number 2, page 140, April 2004
Recent Articles
- Elder Abuse: Civil and Criminal Remedies, November 2018
- Concepts of Ageism: Arguments in Favour of the Need for Protections, August 2018
- Family Law for the Dead: Spousal Claims against Estates, May 2018
- Predatory Marriages, May 2018
- A Lawyer’s Duties and Obligations Where Capacity, Undue Influence, and Vulnerability are at Issue in a Retainer, May 2018
- Undue Influence; Estates and Trust Context, June 2017
- Overview of Decisional Capacity: Estates and Trusts Context, June 2017
- Pecore v Pecore: A Discussion 10 Years Later, April 2017
- Nature and Origin of the Law of Undue Influence: Attacking Wealth Transfers, March 2017
- Toronto Star Newspaper, quoted in the January 6, 2018 Toronto Star article about a recent predatory marriage case, Hunt v. Worrod, 2017 ONSC 7397 (CanLII), by Moira Welsh
- Newstalk 1010 AM Radio, appeared live on NewsTalk 1010 AM on December 12, 2017 discussing comments in Moira Welsh's Toronto Star article, How Ontario's Laws make seniors an easy target for 'predatory marriages'
- Law Times, Vol. 26, No.33, “Lawyers Can Help Stop Abuse of Power of Attorney” interview by Dale Smith, October 23, 2017
- Lawyered Podcast: “Predatory Marriages, Power of Attorney Litigation, and Treatment of Joint Accounts”, May 2016
- Caregiving Matters, quoted in the article: ‘How Ontario’s laws make seniors an easy target for ‘predatory marriages’, April 22, 2016
- Saskatchewan News, quoted in the article: “Hitched then ditched by marriage ‘predator’”, April 17, 2016
- Waterloo Chronicle, quoted in “Hitched then ditched by marriage ‘predator’”, April 17, 2016
- Toronto Star, quoted and referenced in the article: “How Ontario’s laws make seniors an easy target for ‘predatory marriages’", April 17, 2016
- The Lawyers Weekly, July 25, 2014, “Challenging the predatory marriage: A pair of New York rulings offer an alternate path”
- Just Magazine: “Cautions against Boilerplate Language in “End of Life” Clauses in Powers of Attorney for Personal Care”, January 2014
- Law Times Supplement: “What is Elder Law?”, December 9, 2013
- LSUC: “How to Make a Dependent’s Support Claim” Update, November 2013
- CBA National Elder Law Section Newsletter: Sage Advice: “Lawyer’s Checklist of Circumstantial Inquiries”, November 2013
- OBA, Trust and Estates Section, Deadbeat article: “McConnell v Huxtable: Clarification of Limitation Period for Constructive Trust Claims?”, October 2013
- Law Times: Quoted in article: “Wills and Estates Litigation: Decision Show Need for Greater Attention to Undue Influence” by M. McKiernan, October 21, 2013
- CBA National Elder Law Section Newsletter: Sage Advice: “Planning for the Protection of Older Adults”, March 2013
- Deadbeat Magazine: “Case Comment on Haines v Haines Estate: Judge Warns of Potential Modern Day Bleak House in Litigation to Remove Estate Trustees”, January 2013
Memberships
- Section 3 Counsel Group, 2018
- The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, 2018
- Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) Seniors Expert Advisory Committee (SEAC), 2018
- Steering Committee Member for 2019 Estate Planning and Litigation Forum, Cambridge Forums Inc.
- Women Lawyers Forum, 2018
- CBA Elder Law Executive, Section Chair, 2017
- OBA Elder Law Executive, Section Vice-Chair, 2017
- Civilian Co-Chair, Toronto Police Service Seniors Community Consultative Committee (TPS SCCC), Abuse of Older and Vulnerable Persons
- Executive Member, OBA Awards Committee
- Past Chair, OBA, Trust and Estates Executive
- Executive Member, CBA Elder Law Executive
- Member, Law Society of Upper Canada
- Member, Canadian Bar Association
- Member, Ontario Bar Association: Civil Litigation, Family Law, Sole Small Firm and General Practice, Health Law sections
- Member, Toronto Lawyers Association
- Full Member, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (Worldwide)
- Past Branch Chair, STEP (Toronto)
- Director, STEP (Canada)
- Member, Estate Planning Council of Toronto
- Member, Professional Advisory Group of the Baycrest Foundation
- Member, Professional Advisory Group of Dental Elder Abuse Response (DEAR) Project
- Member, Estate List Users Committee, Ontario Superior Court of Justice (OSCJ) at Toronto
- Trusts & Estates Executive Bench and Bar Liaison and Estates List Users Committee (ELUC)
- Executive Member (Past), OBA, Young Lawyers Division (YLD)
- Executive Member (Past), OBA, CLE Main Committee
- Executive Member, (Past), OBA, Annual Institute Review Committee, 2005 - 2009
- Member, Advocates’ Society
- Member, Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE)
- Counsel (Past), Senior Peoples’ Resources in North Toronto Inc. (SPRINT)
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
- Member, Canadian Association on Gerontology
- National Initiative for the Care of Elderly (NICE), Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres (OACCAC)
- Member, OBA, Law Reform Initiative, Predatory Marriages
- Member, American Bar Association (ABA)
