The All Families Are Equal Act (Parentage and Related Registrations Statute Law Amendment), 2016, S.O. 2016, c. 23 (the “Act”), received Royal Assent on December 5, 2016, and the provisions of the Act discussed in this blog came into force on January 1, 2017. The Act introduces a new regime…
“Is perpetuity 21 years?” asked a charity colleague. “No, it’s forever, until the end of time, or as long as we collectively exist,” I answered. Despite my pedantic response, the question is a good one because it underscores the inherent meaninglessness of the phrase “in perpetuity” in relation to charitable…
By now many are familiar with the story reported in the National Post on March 2, 2017 by Ashley Csanady and the subsequent public outrage and calls for appeal in the Nova Scotia acquittal of a case of alleged sexual assault of a young woman intoxicated in the back of…
Assume Mr. X died in early 2016. Mr. X’s estate appears to meet all of the requirements to be a graduated rate estate (“GRE”), except the 1st return has not been filed as yet to formally designate it a GRE. The estate made a charitable donation in early 2017; at…
Caring for our loved ones while satisfying and fulfilling can be expensive both emotionally and financially. Understanding needs, costs and tax relief are all important to saving money. Today’s blog provides some caring highlights from the 2017 Federal Budget. Three current tax credits have been replaced with the proposed Canada…
Today’s blog was written by Jenna Ward, Articling Student, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. When clients plan engagement parties, weddings, baby showers or divorce parties (yes, divorce parties are becoming increasingly common) they may not think to invite their estate lawyer. Understandable. However, the unfortunate result may be that such life…
This Blog was written by Robert Boyd Absurd as the title may suggest, this is a possibility. The technology now exists for a robot to tweet, send and reply to text messages and post on social media profiles after a person’s death. The Artificial Intelligence(AI) will mimic the deceased’s personality…
Does an estate trustee have to apply for probate in order to represent the estate before an administrative tribunal? Two administrative tribunals – the Workplace Safety Insurance Appeal Tribunal and the Humans Rights Tribunal have taken different positions. An estate trustee does not always require probate (the formal term is…
Attention turns to the filing of T3 trust income tax and information returns with the end of March in sight. If you are trustee of a new Trust you may wonder if an identification number is required? Like a social insurance number or a business number, the trust identification number…
Further to my colleague Diane Vieira’s March 15, 2017 blog, in which she summarized the Law Commission of Ontario report on legal capacity, decision-making and guardianship in Ontario, I wanted to highlight some key recommendations that I found to be particularly relevant. Over the last while, I have noticed a…