Picture this: you’re sitting in your backyard, getting some sun, and enjoying some quality private family time. However, you may be under the watchful “eye” of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”), sometimes referred to as a “drone”.

The Parental Responsibility Act was enacted in May 2000. This Act makes it possible for parents to be sued for damage or losses caused by their minor children: “where a child takes, damages or destroys property, an owner or a person entitled to possession of the property may bring an action in Small Claims Court against a parent of the child to recover damages.” The maximum claim is currently $10,000.00.

People regularly ask whether they should give a personal guarantee for a business venture or a loan for personal items such as a car on behalf of a spouse or child.

I have at times had people in my office who have “spoken to someone at Revenue Canada” (or another government agency for that matter) and received advice that they are determined to follow. Sometimes they even obtain the name of the government person they spoke to. The person feels that he or she is “protected”. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

The story takes place in Stratford where Jean and Harry Weitzner lived together for 38 years prior to Harry’s tragic death in a fire in 1989. Harry left a will naming his wife as his sole heir.

For about 30 years, Harry operated a scrapyard on the site, using a portion of his home as a business office. The property was sold by Jean to Hermans in 1997 who then had the house demolished by Cornelius Goncalves.

During the demolition, a fire extinguisher rolled out of a crawl space under the business office in the home. An unspecified quantity of silver coins were found in the extinguisher, along with $130,000 in old $50 and $100 bills. The money was in 26 neat bundles of $5,000 each.

What can you do when someone publishes something about you that hurts your reputation?