The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) gathers law reform suggestions from the public, the government, and the legal profession as part of their review and recommendation process when making suggestions to improve the law and the legal system.
Two new ALRI reports have been published.
- New Trustee Act of Alberta (take the survey)
- Reviewable Transactions (view the final report)
The New Trustee Act of Alberta
The Alberta Law Reform Institute and the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General have extended the joint consultation deadline for feedback on Report for Discussion No. 28 until April 30, 2016.
Based on feedback received to date, we have created a survey that specifically addresses who should be able to vary a trust and when this can be done without court approval. Further, the trust looks at the proper balance of authority in trust variations between a trust instrument and court approval.
We have also taken our original survey on the Report and broken it into several 2 minute surveys. This allows you to answer a very brief survey on the topics that interest you.
Visit the ALRI website to read the Report and take our surveys. You can also link to these from the provincial government’s website.
Please contact the Institute by email at [email protected] if you have any questions. You can also subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Twitter @ablawreofrm.
Carol Burgess
ALRI Operations Manager
Reviewable Transactions
The law of fraudulent preference and conveyances is outdated and still relies on the English Fraudulent Conveyances Act, 1571. The law in this area also lacks a clear policy foundation and needs to be clarified and modernised. In 2012, the Uniform Law Conference of Canada recommended new legislation to update this area of the law.
The Alberta Law Reform Institute has reviewed the work of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada and recommends that Alberta adopt the Uniform Reviewable Transactions Act.
Key changes that would flow from adopting the Reviewable Transactions Act in Alberta include:
- Balancing creditors’ rights to recover what they are owed against a transferee’s right to be free from unsuspected claims to property or value received from a person who has creditors;
- Focusing on the effect of a transaction (did it impede or defeat creditors’ rights of recovery?) rather than the intention of its participants;
- Considering whether the transferee was in a position to recognise that the transaction was vulnerable because its terms were too good to be true or the transferee knew of and facilitated the debtor’s intention to obstruct creditors.
The Report also includes a sample draft Reviewable Transactions Act. Implementing the Uniform Act in Alberta would also complement the modern legislative framework established by the Civil Enforcement Act and the Personal Property Security Act.
Download the report from our website – Final Report 108, Reviewable Transactions
Carol Burgess
ALRI Operations Manager
If you want LESA’s help to raise awareness about an upcoming event relevant to the Alberta legal community, contact Renee Vander Meulen, Communications Coordinator.
780.969.0553 or [email protected]
