Halifax Lawyer Blog

Blogs written by lawyers at Highlander Law Group in Tantallon, Nova Scotia for people in Halifax with an interest in Real Estate Purchase and Sale, Corproate, Litigation, Debt Collection, Divorce, Probate, Wills, Power of Attorney, Trusts, Child support, Spousal Support, Custody, Migration, Debt Collection, Builders Liens, Estate Planning, Trademarks, Copyright and other Intellectual Property issues. .

February 27, 2024

if you are young & Healthy, Do you Need a Power of Attorney or Personal Healthcare Directive in Nova Scotia?

February 27, 2024/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

In Nova Scotia, a Power of Attorney and Personal Healthcare Directive are documents you can use to appoint someone else to make decisions for you. The documents can come into effect right away or only upon your incompetence. The Power of Attorney appoints someone to take care of your property and finances. Your Personal Healthcare Directive appoints someone to take care of you, personally, specifically your medical and healthcare needs.

February 27, 2024

Does My Nova Scotia Power of Attorney Need a Witness to be Valid?

February 27, 2024/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

In Nova Scotia, all things ‘Power of Attorney’ are governed by the recently updated (July 2022) Powers of Attorney Act.

The Act tells us that in order for a Power of Attorney executed after July 2022 to be valid, the donor’s signature must be witnessed by not just one, but TWO witnesses.

The following criteria must be met for the witnesses to be eligible:

January 30, 2024

Is a Power of Attorney Executed Out of Province Valid in Nova Scotia?

January 30, 2024/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

All things ‘Powers of Attorney’ in Nova Scotia are governed by the recently updated (July 2022) Nova Scotia Powers of Attorney Act. The Act says that a document made outside of the province is deemed to be a valid power of attorney under this Act if it meets the following two criteria:

November 27, 2023

Spousal buyout? What is it – how does it work in Nova Scotia?

November 27, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

So, you and your spouse (legal or common law) have agreed that one of you will “buy out” the other from the home you share ownership of. What does that mean?

Generally speaking each party is presumptively entitled to 50% of the equity in a jointly owned home. In order to switch it to a single spouse there are several steps.

November 20, 2023

Am I able to add my adult children to the Deed to my Property in Nova Scotia?

November 20, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

You can add additional owners to your property whenever you want. The new owner does not have to pay money and they can be family members. You can make the new person an equal share owner or you can give them a certain percentage. Most commonly, parents add their children as Joint Tenants. This makes the child an equal owner with any other Joint Tenants. The benefit to the Joint Tenant route in Nova Scotia is that when one person dies, the surviving owners automatically become full owners without requiring the estate to pass through Probate Court (saving time, stress and significant money).

November 13, 2023

Why is my Nova Scotia bank requiring me to get “Independent Legal Advice”?

November 13, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

If you have rights to a property in Nova Scotia, usually by way of the Matrimonial Property Act, but you are not an official owner on title to the property, the owner of the property must get your consent before they can sell or encumber it (like a mortgage or line of credit). In almost all of these circumstances, you will have to sign the legal paperwork as the ‘Releasor’, meaning you are releasing your right to prevent the property from being sold or encumbered.

November 06, 2023

How Do I Add my Common Law Partner to the Title of my Nova Scotia home so they are an Owner too?

November 06, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

Jane Doe purchased the property a number of years ago and is currently the sole owner. Several years remain on the mortgage. Jane wants to make sure her common law partner would become equal owner of the house, and would get it outright with as few complications as possible, if Jane died. Learn how to make it happen!

October 30, 2023

How to create a legally binding co-habitation agreement in Nova Scotia

October 30, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

What is a co-habitation agreement?

A co-habitation agreement is a legally binding contract between unmarried couples who live together. In Nova Scotia, a co-habitation agreement establishes legal rights and responsibilities towards each other, similar to how marriage provides certain legal protections for couples who tie the knot.

October 16, 2023

What’s the benefit of having a Co-habitation Agreement for my common law relationship in Nova Scotia

October 16, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

What is a co-habitation agreement?

April 26, 2023

I Don’t have a deeded Right of Way Easement. Do I have still the right to travel over someone else’s property or road to access my property?

April 26, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

The answer to that question, unfortunately, is a giant, “It Depends.”

The most common way a Right of Way easement is created are 1) grant 2) necessity or 3) prescription.

The first thing to determine is whether the property you are traveling over has been migrated to the new land registration system yet or not.

April 19, 2023

Can I record an easement on a piece of land in Nova Scotia that has already been migrated to the Land Registration System?

April 19, 2023/ 800201071RT0001/ Dianna Rievaj

In Nova Scotia, once a property has been migrated to the Land Registration System, the rules under the Land Registration Act take over.

Easements by Grant

In theory, all granted easements should have been recorded on both parcels at the time of migration, however, from time to time, things are missed. It is also the case that when the land registration system came into place it was not a requirement for the ‘flip-side’ burden to be recorded, so sometimes those are missing. If you find yourself in that circumstance, all that is required is for the Land Registration Office to be notified of the error (by way of a prescribed form submitted by a lawyer certified to make changes to the land registration system).

April 12, 2023

What does my Nova Scotia Easement allow me to do?

April 12, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

A deeded easement (meaning one that is in a written agreement and tied to a specific lot of land), gives the owner of the dominant parcel of land the right to do certain specific things over or on the land of another nearby parcel. However, because an easement necessarily is burdening someone else’s land, the courts will always read the easement in as narrow a light as possible to minimize the impact on the other person’s land.

April 05, 2023

Can I use a Power of Attorney to sell my jointly owned property in Nova Scotia if my partner has Dementia?

April 05, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

If a property is owned in joint tenancy by more than one person, then all owners must consent to the sale in writing. (If you’re not sure if the property is owned in joint tenancy vs as tenants in common review our blog on the topic to help you understand the difference) However, if an owner is no longer competent, then someone must consent on their behalf.

March 22, 2023

What does it mean if someone has a Deeded Right of Way Easement over my Nova Scotia property?

March 22, 2023/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

An easement is the right for the owner of one parcel of land to enjoy a specific benefit over a nearby property. If it is a ‘Deeded’ easement, it means the right was created by a documented agreement between the owners of the involved parcels of land. In Nova Scotia, deeded easements attach to the land and continue to be in force even after the parcel has changed hands

March 01, 2023

Understanding Deed Transfer Tax When Purchasing Property in Nova Scotia

March 01, 2023/ Dianna Rievaj

If you considering buying a property in Nova Scotia it's crucial to understand the various costs involved, including the deed transfer tax. In Nova Scotia, this tax plays a significant role in the total cost of a real estate transaction .

September 07, 2022

What Happens to my Pet if I Divorce or Separate in Nova Scotia?

September 07, 2022/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

In Nova Scotia animals are legally considered property. This may seem bizarre, as our furry friends have little in common with a lamp or table. There are some areas of Canadian law that treat animals more like living things. For example, the Criminal Code of Canada provides specific crimes for cruelty to animals and provides protections for police service animals, but for any other matters focusing on pets your Province’s personal property law will apply.

February 07, 2022

How do I Calculate the Value of an Estate in Nova Scotia for Probate?

February 07, 2022/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

If the estate requires Probate, the first document you submit to the court will require you to estimate the value of the deceased person’s estate at the time of their death. In many cases, assets may have been sold or money received into the estate after the person died, but for the purposes of calculating the value of the estate for Probate, you only include the assets as at the time of death.

December 21, 2021

Can I Get Ownership to a NOVA SCOTIA Property through Squatter’s Rights in Nova Scotia if the Owner Game me Permission Years Ago?

December 21, 2021/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

Squatter’s Rights is the concept that if you openly adversely possession someone else’s land continuously for the required length of time (usually 20 year for privately owned land, 40 years for Crown land), that you can apply to the court for an order declaring that you have become the legal owner of that land. The idea is that a land owner can’t sit back for decades and do nothing and then come out of the woodwork and demand their land back.

December 14, 2021

Should I tell Anyone What’s in my Will?

December 14, 2021/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

In Nova Scotia, there is absolutely no obligation for you to disclose what is in any of your estate planning documents. That said, there are a number of circumstances when having a frank conversation with your executors and beneficiaries in advance of your death may avoid an unpleasant (and often costly) conflict after you are gone.

November 22, 2021

Enforce Promises with Respect to Land in Nova Scotia with Proprietary Estoppel

November 22, 2021/ Highlander Law Group/ Dianna Rievaj

In Nova Scotia if there is a dispute over the ownership of, or rights to the use of, land, the starting point is the Statute of Frauds. The Statute of Frauds recognizes that land ownership is so valuable, ownership can only be transferred in writing. The goal is to avoid confusion as to ownership rights to land.