Toronto Estate Law Blog : Toronto Estate Lawyer : Hull & Hull Law Firm : Trust Mediation and Succession Planning : Serving Ontario, Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton

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“No religion prohibits organ donation.”

This is according to an article posted on the Toronto Star’s “Health Zone”. The article by Barbara Turnbull entitled “Religious leaders confront myths that stop faithful from donating organs” notes that in the GTA, just 12% of the population has registered as organ donors.  This may be a factor of the GTA’s rich diversity of culture.

The prevailing belief among many religious groups is that preservation of the integrity of the body is required upon death. However, no religion prohibits organ donation, and many religious leaders from various faiths are working to change the prevailing public opinion.

The article quotes Jewish, Muslim and Hindu religious leaders: all of whom support organ donation. However, they note that much work must be done in order to overcome prevailing attitudes. “We have to change it so that it’s not only okay to do it, it’s not okay not to do it”, says Rabbi Reuven Bulka.

The article reports that 1,547 people are awaiting organ transplants in Ontario, and every three days, someone dies while waiting for a transplant. Hopefully, these numbers will change for the better.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend. And please sign your organ donation card.

Paul E. Trudelle - Click here for more information on Paul Trudelle. 

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Chinese real-estate tycoon, Yu Pengnian, announced this past April that he was donating the last $500 million of his fortune to his charitable foundation on philanthropy. He was asked by a reporter, whether his children were angry about his donations and responded by stating: “They didn’t oppose this idea, at least not in public.”

|It is not uncommon for billionaires to donate their fortune. For instance, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates started a campaign called "The Giving Pledge." At that time, they had four billionaires pledge to give away half of their fortune upon their death.  Now there are 40. My colleague, Nadia Harasymowycz, recently blogged on this topic, which can be found here: Leaving it all to Charity – A Good Plan or an Estate Litigator’s dream.

The idea of giving away your fortune is a strong shift from the traditional idea of passing down your wealth, from generation to generation. Why this switch in estate planning? Yu stated: “If my children are competent, they don’t need my money. If they’re not, leaving them a lot of money is only doing them harm.”

Yu’s message to wealthy families put simply: “Too many wealthy parents focus on preventing their children from failing. But in doing so, they also deprive their children of the joys of self-made success.”

Thank you for reading,

Rick Bickhram - Click here for more information on Rick Bickhram.

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Normally, it is the estate trustee who has the authority to deal with the disposition of the deceased’s remains. A deceased’s stated wishes with respect to disposition, including donation, are seen as merely precatory.

However, Ontario’s Trillium Gift of Life Network Actvaries this usual authority, in a number of respects.

Firstly, a deceased’s consent to organ donation is “binding and is full authority for the use of the body…”.

Secondly, where the deceased has not specifically consented to a donation, the Act allows specified persons to consent to the donation of the person’s own body or body parts upon death. A spouse or other family members, in a specific order, are authorized to consent to such a donation if the deceased has not consented during his or her lifetime. One of the persons authorized to consent to the donation is “the person lawfully in possession of the body”. This appears to be a reference to the estate trustee.  However, the estate trustee’s authority to consent is low on the list, after the spouse, children, parents, siblings and other next of kin.

The consent of a spouse or other person listed in the legislation is “binding and full authority” for the use of the body. The legislation therefore appears to make a limited exception to the common law authority of the estate trustee.

Consent is not to be given if it is believed that the deceased would have objected during his or her lifetime, or if the deceased did not consent, if someone higher on the hierarchical list would object.

Have a great weekend.

Paul Trudelle