Scotiatrust

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For over 100 years, Scotiatrust® has helped Canadians preserve and transfer their wealth. Together with your team of specialists, we work to understand your achievements and help you connect them, so your wealth makes the meaningful impact you want. We also help you make important decisions sooner and ensure they’re followed when you’re unable to do so yourself. We are a team of highly experienced, hands-on professionals and we view it as our responsibility to ensure our clients have addressed all relevant issues and that their wishes are followed throughout and beyond their lifetime, helping them to live well and leave well.

Valuing Digital Assets: Lessons from the Counter Strike Market Crash

Scotiatrust

This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust Digital assets have become an increasingly common topic in estate planning. What once seemed like a niche hobby has turned into a meaningful part of some clients’ financial picture. From cryptocurrency to NFTs and even online gaming inventories, these assets can hold real world value, sometimes in the millions. Yet recent events in the gaming world have shown just….

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Estate Planning, valuation

RRSPs Aren’t the Villain – But Misunderstanding Them Is

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This blog post was written by: Melissa Plunkett, Director, Scotiatrust On Friday, September 26, 2025, when CTV news published their story “Daughter hit with $660,000 tax bill when both parents died in the same year”, I was inundated with texts and DMs from friends and family asking me if this could really happen to a middle-class family.   Did the CRA assess too much tax?  Was an RRSP really all taxable at….

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Estate Planning, Tax Issues

Picking The Right Power of Attorney: The Cautionary Tale of Jack Johnson

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This blog post was written by: Taylor Sergeant, Associate Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust Ottawa When it comes to estate planning, few decisions carry as much weight as selecting your Power of Attorney (POA). This person will have the legal authority to make financial or personal decisions on your behalf. Unfortunately, NHL defenseman Jack Johnson learned this lesson the hard way. The Jack Johnson Case: A Cautionary Tale Jack Johnson,….

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Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

When One Clause or Designation Derails an Estate Plan

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This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust Recent decisions from the British Columbia Court of Appeal have underscored how fragile an estate plan can become when a Will is ambiguous, or when life insurance and beneficiary designations conflict with the testator’s broader intentions. These cases remind us that estate planning isn’t just about having a Will, it’s about making sure the pieces are consistent, coherent, and….

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Appeals, Contested wills, Courts, Estate Litigation, Insurance, Wills

Supporting Loved Ones With Dementia: The Peace of Mind a POA Provides

Scotiatrust

This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust Dementia is not just a medical diagnosis; it’s a family story that unfolds over years. Canada’s numbers are climbing—projections suggest more than 1.7 million Canadians could be living with dementia by 2050. That’s a lot of spouses, adult children, and friends carrying new responsibilities—and often facing urgent decisions. The simplest way to bring calm to those moments is to….

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Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

AI Generated Wills: Can Courts Fix a Robot’s Mistake?

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This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust   AI has started writing Wills. That might sound futuristic, but it’s already happening. Generative tools can churn out documents that look polished, formatted, and ready to sign. But what happens when those words don’t match what the person actually intended? Can a court fix an AI-generated Will the way it might fix a solicitor’s drafting error?   Think….

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Contested wills, Estate Planning
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