In Ontario, s. 15 of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”) provides that a Will is revoked by a subsequent marriage of the testator. Practitioners who are meeting with a client in the weeks leading up to his or her marriage will often prepare a Will that contains a statement that the Will was made “in contemplation of the marriage”, which will ‘save’ the Will from revocation by the….
Guest written by Giancarlo Mignardi, Student-at-Law at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Last week, I provided an overview of secret and semi-secret trusts, as well as the legal framework that allows for their existence. Today, I will discuss some of the practical uses of such trusts in modern estate-planning, as well as some of the difficulties that arise in proving these trusts. As will be noted, while these unique arrangements can….
On Monday, October 21st, Canadians will go to the polls to elect the federal government. While the major parties’ platforms address many issues that are important to Canadians, there are several that will, in particular, impact the personal finances of Canadians and, ultimately, the advice provided by estate planners:[1] Personal Income Taxes All of the major parties have proposed changes to current tax rates: The Liberals have proposed tax cuts….
Written by Fatima Husnain, student-at-law at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Prior to law school, I worked in a hospital inpatient mental health unit. Many of the patients were unable to make their own health care decisions and relied upon other individuals to make decisions on their behalf. If anyone had asked me at that time what a power of attorney for personal care (“POA”) was, I could not have answered…..
Difference Between a POA and an SDM Continue Reading »
UncategorizedThe Aretha Franklin estate saga has taken another interesting turn this week, with a Michigan Probate Court making an order for a handwriting analyst to review one of her holograph Wills. As Lara Besharat explained in her detailed blog post on May 23rd, Aretha died in August of 2018, leaving behind three handwritten Wills, two of which were dated 2010, and one of which was dated 2014. The two Wills….
R.E.S.P.E.C.T…..the handwriting analysis? Continue Reading »
Estate Administration
It’s that time of year again for estate planners: the season of calls from clients about to leave for vacation, who realize that they haven’t updated their Will in years. These clients typically want to make sure they update their documents before departure, “just in case anything happens while I’m away…” I’ve often wondered after working on such a file whether the client’s worry is supported by evidence: are you….
“Just in case anything happens while I’m away…” Continue Reading »
Estate Planning