All About Estates

Month: September 2014

Total 17 Posts

Young Carers: The Canadian Version

Statistics Canada released last week (Sept 24, 2014) the latest data on Young Canadians providing care. This information uses data from the 2012 General Social Survey on Caregiving and Care Receiving. In 2012, 27% of young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 29 provided some form of care to…

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A Perfect Storm

First I read an article in Maclean’s titled Seniors and the generation spending gap (interestingy, the tablet edition has the more provocative title “Old and Loaded”) which discusses how today’s seniors are the “wealthiest generation in history”. Next, I read Audrey’s blog – September is World Alzheimer’s Month – where I learned that…

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Ethics and Lawyers

Starting October 1, 2014, the Ontario Rules of Professional Conduct (ROPC) are being updated with a number of new rules, the first big change since 2000.  While many of the changes will likely be of interest to practitioners, there are a number of new rules that are intended to more clearly…

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‘Hot-Tubbing’: A Cool Approach to Divergent Expert Opinions

‘Hot-tubbing’ (also known as ‘concurrent evidence’) is a practice that has become popular in Australian courts and has recently been adopted by English courts and only very recently by Canadian courts (Antonia Croake and Louise Mallon, Commercial Litigation Newsletter, October 2013 ; Ruth Corbin, Advocates Journal Spring 2014).  The technique…

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September is World Alzheimer’s Month

World Alzheimer’s Month, which was launched in 2012 is observed in September every year. This year it was yesterday, September 21, 2014. The Alzheimers Society shares that dementia is a general term that refers to a variety of brain disorders. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. We…

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Boilerplate Blues

Most clauses in a Will are (or should be) clear on their face.  That being said, certain standard clauses  – even when drafted in plain English – may be opaque to the layperson.   The “persons born outside marriage” clause is a good example of a provision which begs an explanation. In…

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POWERS OF ATTORNEY AND ALTER EGO TRUSTS

My fellow bloggers and I have written in the past about the ins and outs of legitimate probate fee avoidance arrangements available to a testator. These arrangements include an intervivos transfer of assets such as alter-ego trusts. Care and advice must be taken to ensure that the transfer of assets…

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