Estate Planning

Practice Direction Retrospective: Scheduling Appointments, Hearing Matters and Adjournments (Part 2 of 2)

By Hull and Hull LLP

Court appearances were split into two lists with the April 1, 2009 Practice Direction Concerning the Estates List of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto: Scheduling Appointments and Hearing Matters. Today's topic is Hearing Matters.

Scheduling Appointments generally precede matters that will eventually require hearings of more than one hour. Dates for the Hearing Matters List must be booked at a Scheduling Appointment for the following kinds of matters:

1. Applications involving Wills where an Order Giving Directions will be required;
2. Guardianship applications; and
3. Any other motion or application taking longer than one hour of Court time.

For matters that will take an hour or less of the Court's time, you can book directly on the Hearing Matter List without first attending at a Scheduling Appointment.

Adjourning a Hearing Matter

• If a Hearing Matter was booked through OSCAR or the Estates Office, you can adjourn it once administratively without having to appear in Court. For a second adjournment, you must appear in Court on the scheduled date to speak to the adjournment request OR you can book a Scheduling Appointment to speak to the matter before the hearing date.
• If a Hearing Matter was booked at a Scheduling Appointment, you must appear in Court to speak to the adjournment request, and you should be prepared to argue why it is required. It is not a given, even on consent.

When Speaking to Adjournments – General Tips

• If you are adjourning to a specific date, make sure you clear the date ahead of time with the Estates Office and can provide the confirmed date to the Court. It moves things along more happily and quickly for you and the Court.
• Prepare for every Court appearance; make sure you know something about the file.
• Take the entire file with you if at all possible, even for Scheduling Appointments, because you never know what you will be asked by the Court or what you might have to respond to.

Use Scheduling Appointments and Hearing Matters wisely and you can reduce Court appearances, which are costly and time-consuming for Courts and parties alike. This was the goal for the Practice Direction and accords with the new Rules of Civil Procedure regarding proportionality. 

Thanks for reading!

Sharon Davis

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on March 21, 2010 (boomark / email).