January 2017

Dementia in Canada: Developing A National Strategy for Dementia-friendly Communities

• • 0 Comments

“I can think of no other disease that places such a heavy burden on families, communities, and societies. I can think of no other disease where innovation, including breakthrough discoveries to develop a cure, is so badly needed.” — Margaret Chan, Director General, World Health Organization (Opening remarks at the First WHO Ministerial Conference on Global Action against Dementia, 17 March 2015) As January is Alzheimer’s Awareness month, I thought….

Dementia in Canada: Developing A National Strategy for Dementia-friendly Communities Continue Reading »

Elder Care, Elder Law

Will Challenges and the Well – Acquainted Lawyer

• • 2 Comments

Today’s blog was written by Jenna Ward, Articling Student, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. A recent case of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has emphasized the significance of first, the relationship between a testator and his or her lawyer and second, the experience and tenure of such lawyer in assessing testamentary capacity and by extension, in determining the validity of a will. Bachman v. Scheidt, 2016 SKCA 150 Bachman v. Scheidt….

Will Challenges and the Well – Acquainted Lawyer Continue Reading »

Contested wills, Credibility, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence, Wills

Estate Donations = Faster Distributions

• • 1 Comment

[caption id="attachment_4590" align="alignright" width="761"] Faster Distributions of Estate Donations[/caption] Matt Johnston, my tax colleague at Scotiatrust, says the 12-month tax filing deadline is upon us. The initial round of major distributions to charities will occur in January 2017 under the “estate donation” rules introduced in 2016. As mentioned in my previous blog, executors and their advisors are discovering that new rules create new procedures. And the new procedures may lead….

Estate Donations = Faster Distributions Continue Reading »

Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Appeal Court: Fraudulent Concealment Stopped the Clock

• • 0 Comments

I previously blogged about Roulston v McKenny et al, 2016 ONSC 2377, as a classic example of chutzpah. The deceased’s ex-wife had a claim against his estate if a life insurance policy lapsed. Even though the estate trustee knew that the policy had lapsed, she withheld this information from the ex-wife – and then argued the ex-wife’s claim was brought out of time. The application judge found that the ex-wife’s….

Appeal Court: Fraudulent Concealment Stopped the Clock Continue Reading »

Estate Litigation, Wills

7th Annual Trustee Investment Review

•

This is my 7th annual year end investment review for Trusts. As I have indicated in the past, Trustees are accountable for a prudent investment policy. This includes a review of the performance of the investments in the Trust. For Trusts that hold a portfolio of marketable securities, a fundamental element of the review includes a comparison of the performance of the investments in the Trust against relevant benchmarks. For….

7th Annual Trustee Investment Review Continue Reading »

Investments, Trusts

RRIF rollovers and grandchildren.

• • 0 Comments

Can RRIF proceeds paid after death to a testamentary trust, and used to purchase an annuity for the deceased’s grandson, qualify for a tax deferred rollover? The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) was recently asked to rule on the following set of circumstances and facts. The grandson’s parents were incapable of caring for him and he was placed in the annuitant’s custody. He lived with the annuitant and she provided financially for all his needs. The….

RRIF rollovers and grandchildren. Continue Reading »

Canada Revenue Agency, Dependant Support, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, In the News, Investments, Resulting Trust, Tax Issues, Trustee, Trusts, Wills
Scroll to Top