April 2016

I’LL GET TO MY WILL ON ANOTHER DAY…

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One cannot be engaged in an estate planning practice without being asked “why do I need a Will”. For those living family members of the recently departed entertainer, Prince, the answer will, unfortunately become all too clear. According to numerous news reports, the iconic entertainer died without a Will. As a result, the surviving family, comprised of siblings and half-siblings, can expect the legal issues to carry-on for quite some time before their brother can truly rest-in-peace…..

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Estate Planning, Wills

Tax Time Tips

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I teamed up with my fellow blogger Derek de Gannes to share important information needed for this tax season. According to Statistics Canada, twenty – eight percent of Canadians are providing unpaid care to a family or friend. We know that the cost of caring is high, both emotionally and financially. We thought that it would be helpful to include some tips and information regarding what goods and services might be eligible for a medical tax exemption or a non refundable tax credit…..

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Canada Revenue Agency, Elder Care, Geriatric Care Management, Tax Issues

Carter v Canada: The prudent position of the Federal Government on mental illness

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The polarized perspectives on Physician Assisted Dying (PAD) mean that no matter where the Federal Government landed on the specific details of the implementation of the Carter v Canada decision, there would be a guaranteed outcry from one or both of the poles – those representing autonomy under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and those concerned with the need to protect the vulnerable. There is certainly merit in the….

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Capacity Law

Passing of Accounts – Delay and Lost Rent

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Applications to pass accounts are a formal review process of an estate trustee’s (or other types of trustee or guardian) actions in administering an estate. The application is started by the estate trustee, on notice to all beneficiaries of the estate. The beneficiaries are given the opportunity to scrutinize the estate trustee’s accounts and raise objections, anything from a request for further information to allegations of a breach of fiduciary….

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Estate Planning

RESP’s – A couple more wrinkles on EAP’s and AIP’s

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In a recent blog, I wrote that the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) was asked whether the six month extension for making educational assistance payments (“EAPs”) out of a registered education savings plan (“RESP”) under the appropriate subsection of the Income Tax Act (the “Act”) can apply when the beneficiary under the plan is deceased and the answer was no because according to the CRA “any payment “to or for an….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, In the News, Investments, Property, RESP, Tax Issues, Trusts

Comprehensive Advice for Executors

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I recently received an email from the member services department of the Canadian Bar Association which began as follows: “30% of our clients are lawyers that accept personal executor appointments. If it’s good for the lawyer, shouldn’t you tell your estate executor clients that it’s good for them, too?” The “it” in question is Estate Administration Insurance (or Executor Insurance). The language of the communication is pretty provocative: “executor risk….

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Executors, Family Conflict
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