Unrestricted Giving – In Life and Estates

An “ah ha” of COVID-19 is the importance of unrestricted giving to charity.  Donors, foundations and charities are realizing that excess conditions may hinders responses to urgent social needs.  Will this insight last beyond the pandemic? And does it apply to estate donations? Trust-Based Philanthropy First a bit of context.  In the charity world, particularly among granting foundations, there is a growing movement called “trust-based philanthropy”.  The tenets of this….

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Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Court of Appeal Denies Stay of Order to Sell Property In Power of Attorney Dispute

In the recent decision of Volk v. Volk, 2020 ONCA 297, the Court of Appeal for Ontario declined the moving parties’ motion for a stay pending appeal of an Order granting the sale of real property alleged to have been purchased by attorneys for property with the funds of the incapable grantor. Facts: The underlying application involved the property of Doris Volk (“Doris”). Doris was incapable, and her property was….

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Guardianship, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

Grateful to have had time to say goodbye

It is with the heaviest of heart that I write today’s blog after saying my final goodbye to my mother. My mother often inspired my writings and most Monday’s she would send me a note, saying no more than ‘ hi lovey, good blog today’. It took a little while  to show her that if she hit reply, it went to the webmaster and that she could either forward or….

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Elder Care

How to Provide for Your Island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons After Your Death: Part II

This is a three-part blog series that seeks to explore the manner in which one can conduct estate planning with respect to their copy of the popular 2020 Nintendo Switch video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Part I discussed the importance of this topic and described the applicability of a non-charitable purpose trust to this type of estate planning. Part II examines the practical considerations for operating a non-charitable purpose….

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Uncategorized

Unclaimed Bodies and Setting Things Right

Unhappily, it is not uncommon for family members to be at loggerheads as to who controls the body of a loved one and whether the body should be cremated or buried. I previously blogged on the 2018 case Miller v. Miller, a decision by Justice Myers of the ONSC, which dealt with this issue. In summary, the estate trustee has the authority to make funeral and burial arrangements. Nevertheless, fights….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Executors, Family Conflict, Funeral Planning

TFSA’s and Survivor Payments: Impact of Fair Market Value.

In this space, sometime ago, a fellow blogger wrote about how survivor payments made out of a deceased’s tax free savings account (TFSA)  to the deceased’s spouse TFSA would qualify as an “exempt contribution” (i.e. the contribution room in the surviving spouse’s TFSA would not be affected by the addition of these funds), even if the spouse was not designated beneficiary of the TFSA. What are the implications to the….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Investments, Property, Tax Issues, Uncategorized, Wills
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