This week, we continue our blog series on busting legal myths that are commonly believed to be true. We explore further misconceptions that are often held regarding Canada’s legal system and the corresponding realities, to provide you with a better understanding of the laws that may affect your everyday life. You can find part 1 of the blog series here: www.wardlegal.ca/2025/09/legal-myth-busters-common-misconceptions-about-the-law/
Myth 5: If someone has died in a house you are selling, you have to disclose the death to prospective buyers
If someone has died in a house that you are selling, you only need to disclose this information to prospective buyers if it would render the property unfit for habitation or dangerous. The mere fact that a death has occurred on a property does not automatically place an obligation on sellers to disclose this information to prospective buyers. Conversely, as a buyer, you are not automatically entitled to know that a death has occurred in the house you are interested in purchasing.
Whether a death in a house would render the property unfit for habitation or dangerous may depend on the situation and professional advice should be sought when selling a house in which a death has occurred, to confirm whether or not it must be disclosed.
Myth 6: You cannot be charged criminally if the victim of the crime chooses not to press charges
The ultimate decision of whether or not an individual is going to be prosecuted for a crime is up to the Crown attorney. If the police are contacted about a crime by a victim and the decision is made to charge a person, the victim later withdrawing their complaint does not automatically mean that the charges against the accused person will be dropped. The victim withdrawing their complaint may be taken into consideration by the Crown attorney and may affect the evidence available against the accused should the matter proceed to trial, however it does not guarantee that the charges will be withdrawn by the Crown attorney.
Myth 7: If you die without a last will and testament, the Crown takes your estate
Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26, provides a framework for how an estate is to be divided when an individual dies without having properly executed a last will and testament, also known as dying “intestate”. This framework details the respective shares to be given to the deceased’s next of kin and the order to be followed when distributing the shares.
Only when a person dies intestate and there is no surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, parent, brother, sister, nephew, niece, or next of kin does the deceased’s property become property of the Crown. To assist with preventing your estate from being divided according to the Succession Law Reform Act’s intestate rules, or ultimately becoming property of the Crown, a legal professional can provide advice regarding the preparation and execution of a last will and testament.
Myth 8: You can file a lawsuit at anytime
In Ontario, there are specific limitation periods that apply to situations that form the legal basis for a lawsuit, or “causes of action”. Generally, these limitation periods are contained in the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B. However, some causes of action have different limitation periods specific to that cause of action. This means that a lawsuit has to be commenced before the limitation period has expired or run out.
If a lawsuit is not commenced within the limitation period, the cause of action is no longer enforceable by law, or it becomes “statute barred”. Generally, once a limitation period has expired, it cannot be revived.
The exact timing for when a limitation period starts to run is not always easily determined. If you have a cause of action and are interested in commencing a lawsuit, a legal professional should be consulted as soon as possible so they can advise you when the limitation period may expire and assist you in commencing a lawsuit before it is too late.
While this blog is the second part of a blog series detailing legal myths that exist about Canada’s legal system, this blog series is far from an exhaustive list of legal myths. It is important to not only stay informed on the current laws and practices in Canada’s legal system, but also to consult a legal professional as soon as possible when you have a legal issue so that you can bust these legal myths – instead of them busting you!
This WARDS LAWYERS PC publication is for general information only. It is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be. Specific or more information may be necessary before advice could be provided for your particular circumstances.