March 2025

Modern Families: References to Children and Issue in Wills

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  Today’s blog was written by Karen La Caprara, Counsel, at Fasken LLP. Like many modern families, the fictional Pritchett family in the series “Modern Family” has a variety of personalities, family dynamics and relationships, traditional and modern viewpoints. The many possible iterations and permutations of what makes a family is a beautiful thing. But, it can also create complexity when it comes to defining who is and who is….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Wills

Guardianship Applications: What is Involved?

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This blog post was written by Holly LeValliant, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust Toronto If you do not have Powers of Attorney for Property and Personal Care, and it is necessary for someone to step into your shoes to make decisions about significant areas of your life, what happens?  In this article, I outline the process, in Ontario, of bringing a Guardianship Application to become the decision-maker for a person….

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Capacity Law, Guardianship, Power of Attorney

A Fiduciary Must Always Account

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In the recent decision of The Estate of Joan R. McAteer, deceased, 2025 ONSC 1197, the Court outlined an attorney for property’s fiduciary obligations to account to the beneficiaries of the incapable person’s estate upon their death. When John Joseph McAteer died, attorneys for property managed the assets of his incapacitated wife, Joan McAteer, until her death. Following Joan’s death, their son, also called John McAteer, brought an application to….

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Uncategorized

Lifestyle Changes Bring Increased Risk to Older Clients and Advisors – Part 2

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In our last blog post, Lifestyle Changes Bring Increased Risk to Older Clients – Part1, we explored the need to rethink the planning paradigm for older clients and actively shift to assuming a 100-year lifespan. However, a 100-year lifespan does not necessarily equal 100 years of good health. We know that in the last decade of a person’s life, there could be more focus on health issues, medical coordination, and….

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Caregiving, Elder Management, Estate Planning

A Closer Look at Simultaneous Deaths

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Recently, the world learned of the passing of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa in what appeared to very strange circumstances. Initially, there were concerns that their deaths may have been as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Autopsy reports have later revealed that this is not the case. Almost immediately, the media started talking about their Estates, with initial reports suggesting that Gene’s Will did not name….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, In the News, Uncategorized, Wills

The New 2024 Alternative Minimum Tax and Trusts – The intended target or unintended victim?

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This blog post was written by Melissa Plunkett, Director, Scotiatrust Over my almost twenty-five-year career in the trust industry, I have seen a lot of clients who have settled trusts for protection – protection of assets and protection of the beneficiary.  Over the course of this past year, with all the Alternative minimum tax (AMT) changes, proposed changes, proposed changes that did not go through, and more changes, I’ve waited….

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Tax Issues, Trusts
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