January 2018

Joint Tenancy and Right of Survivorship

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There has been much case law surrounding the difficulties that may arise when a parent and adult child are joint tenants with respect to real property. In the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”) decision, Jansen v. Niels Estate[1], the Court was faced with the issue of whether Theadora Niels’ (“T”) interest in her house passed by right of survivorship to her daughter-in-law, Ingrid Niels (“I”), pursuant to a joint….

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Uncategorized

Don’t Make a Proprietary Estoppel You Don’t Intend to Keep

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This article was co-authored with Ronald Neal, student-at-law. In its recent decision of Cowper-Smith v. Morgan, 2017 SCC 61, the Supreme Court of Canada expanded the application of the doctrine of proprietary estoppel to find that a person can be bound to fulfill a promise she makes in respect of property that she does not have an interest in at the time the promise was made. Facts   The appeal….

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Uncategorized

The winds of change

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As tax and estate planning goes, advisors look for signs of things to come and events to happen.  We have started to hear rumblings about rising interest rates perhaps suggesting some action may be required where prescribed rate loans are involved. Last week I was alerted to the fact the Bank of Canada posted the average yield on 3 month treasury bills 1.17%.  Should the average yield at the January….

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Estate Planning, Interest, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

A New Caregiving Benefit

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While employed family caregivers (over age 60) in Hawaii are now eligible to receive a $70 per day stipend to pay for additional care support for  a family member, we have something different. As of December 3, 2017  there was a new EI Family Caregiver Benefit which provides for “eligible caregivers to receive up to 15 weeks of financial assistance to provide care or support to a critically ill or….

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Elder Care, Elder Law

New Year, New You?

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Most peoples’ new year’s resolutions include going to the gym more often, eating healthier, losing weight, spending more time with family and friends, saving more money and getting more sleep, to name a few, but what about reviewing your estate plan? If you have experienced any significant changes in your family or financial circumstances in the past year, you should add reviewing your estate plan to your list of new….

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Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Wills

2017 – Fake News & Fidget Spinners

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This is my 8th 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….

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Estate Administration, Investments, Uncategorized
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