June 2014

I was recently asked how parents can ensure that the guardian of their choice takes custody of their minor child or children in the event that both parents die simultaneously. In Ontario, parents (or any other person with custody of the child) can nominate someone to assume custody of their child immediately following their death, but the ultimate determination of custody is reserved to the court. Section 61 of the….

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked to consider a situation where a testamentary trust (the trust) disposed of qualified small business corporation shares (QSBCS) in 2013 during its taxation year ending on January 31, 2014. The trust allocated the taxable capital gain to its beneficiary. The CRA was asked to confirm when the net taxable capital gain would be considered a taxable capital gain a taxable capital gain resulting….

A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal, Verch Estate v. Weckwerth, reaffirms the autonomy of Ontario testators to distribute their estates as they wish provided that their statutory obligations are fulfilled. In this case, which was brought to my attention by a post on Lynne Butler’s Estate Law Canada blog site, a testator had executed a will that left nothing to his adult independent children but instead left….

I had the pleasure of touring a new facility that ‘gets it’. One Kenton is a state of the art residence designed exclusively for those with dementia. Demographics indicate that one in three persons over age 85 will develop a dementia. There is a shortage of appropriate residences that cater exclusively to this clientele. I am not referring to the secured floor of retirement residences where individuals are often tucked….

The cemetery business is changing vastly in Canada. In his Globe and Mail article on May 29, 2014 “The battle for your bones: Death goes corporate in Canada”, Charles Wilkins discusses the business of burial including the shortage of land in urban areas and the burden of perpetuity in the shadow of an aging Canadian population. Urban cemeteries are already full or are filling up while zoning bylaws increasingly prevent….

The capacity to execute a Will, Power of Attorney (POA), manage Property or Personal Care or marry are cognitive tasks determined by an admixture of legal, statutory and clinical guidelines and factors. Hence, the need for a truly collaborative approach to their assessment and legal determination. In the case of testamentary capacity, the legal test is established by case law while the capacity to make POA’s and manage property and personal….