A recent on-line article in Rolling Stone magazine describes how nearly five years following the death of the legendary James Brown, his estate, which had a value of approximately $100 million dollars on the date of his death, remains undistributed…..
Litigation Involving the Estate of the Godfather of Soul Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation, Family ConflictDo we need to include terms such as ‘ caring, kind, pleasant and considerate’ to the skill requirement of caregivers? The National Occupation Classification (NOC) code 6471 (Personal Care Attendant) identifies these employment requirements as :’Some secondary school education is usually required. Child-care or home management experience may be required.Visiting homemakers may require college or other courses in home support.
First aid certification may be required.’ Is there something else missing?….
Let The Sunshine Show Continue Reading »
Elder Care, Estate Planning, Geriatric Care Management, In the NewsIt is always fascinating to watch evolution in progress. I grew up with the Canadian Donor’s Guide. For the last 26 years this publication has been Canada’s preeminent annual guide to charitable giving. It started out as a bound listing of charities distributed to the legal community, but with the electronic age it has changed to remain relevant. ….
Canadian Donor’s Guide Continue Reading »
Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable GivingLast week, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Smith v. Rotstein. The decision appealed from was a summary judgment under old Rule 20 dismissing Ms. Rotstein’s will challenge…..
Your responsibilities as a trustee or executor of an estate may include completing the tax filings of the deceased and requesting tax clearance prior to the distribution of the estate in accordance with the will terms. Let’s say you find out that the deceased’s tax filings were not all up to date or incomplete and you have read about the possibility of tax penalties.
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In the years that I have been practicing I’ve come to realize the importance of having a team approach to addressing a client’s estate plan. Whether the team includes the accountant, who suggests an ‘estate freeze’, the insurance advisor who considers the extent and type of insurance needed to best fulfill the client’s goals, the investment advisor who works to achieve both the client’s retirement and legacy goals or other lawyers who are involved in the client’s legal affairs, all the advisors have a role to play in ensuring the client’s estate play is properly implemented. No where is the team approach perhaps more paramount than when the areas of family and estate law intersect…..
Making sure you play with your best hand Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation, Estate Planning