March 2024

Emotional Support Dogs

I once lost a seat in business class to an alleged Emotional Support Animal (“ESA”). The dog’s owners arrived for a flight in which they were apparently ready to put their alleged ESA, Woofie Goldberg[i], into her carrier and stow her under the seat in front of their own seats. Problems arose when it turned out that the couple had seats immediately behind the bulk head (therefore no seats in….

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Uncategorized

Court Rectifies Ambiguous Will

In Mansour v. Girgis, the court was asked to interpret the Deceased’s will and if the will was found to be ambiguous, to rectify a drafting error. The Deceased died in 2012. He never married and never had children. At the time of his death,  he was survived by two siblings who he made provisions for in his testamentary documents.  He also left the residue of his estate to Bishop….

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Estate Litigation

Tainting The Spousal Trust?

Corporately-owned life insurance is viewed as a key strategic option in tax and estate planning, notably for business owners.  There are several strategic reasons to consider corporately-owned insurance as part of the estate plan, such as equalization among the beneficiaries of their estate or to fund the taxes triggered on death. Essentially, corporate life insurance plays a role in the wealth preservation plan. Another goal of wealth planning is to….

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Estate Planning, Insurance, Trusts

Burials in Rural Ontario – Make Sure You Plan for Interment Rights

A view over an old stone fence into a cemetary, framed by an abundance of trees in full leaf.

As planners working with elderly clients and their families, we encourage people to plan their lives until the end of life and document their wishes for the care of their body after death. People often express their wish to return to a rural community for burial. However, since the COVID pandemic, it is surprising how much has changed in small-town cemeteries across Ontario. Be sure to also plan for interment….

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Elder Management, Executors, Funeral Planning, Wills

Should AI Draft Your Will?

Today’s Blog was written by Courtney Lanthier, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Can it? Probably. Should it? Probably not. While the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) seems to be a rising trend these days, it’s important to note that even though it has certain capabilities, that doesn’t mean it should be used for everything. Specifically, drafting Wills – at least not yet. It may seem like a quick solution to….

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Estate Planning, In the News, Wills
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