A story I heard….. Last week Zoey had the pleasure of visiting her aunt and uncle (in celebration of a 90th bday) who live in the States. Zoey and her husband accompanied her mother who took the train in (by herself) from Montreal so that we could fly together. Zoey’s mom used a wheelchair transport for the airport, which greatly accelerated their wait in security, customs and boarding the plane….
I Didn’t Want To Wake You….. Continue Reading »
Elder CareThis week I was reminded of the perils of non-compliance, and thought it worthwhile to remind readers of a potential pitfall to be avoided. We are all aware of the many tasks that have to be completed in the course of administering an estate, some obviously on a much more timely basis than others. While there are many items that need immediate attention, worrying about the deceased’s taxes is not….
A Cautionary Tale of (Non)-Compliance Continue Reading »
Tax Issues
One of my favorite routines on my annual summer vacation is to read the local news. Regular readers of this Blog may not be surprised that the story which caught my eye this summer was about an Estate. Richard M. Grant, a life-long farmer, known as the “The Corn King” and “The Bean Baron of Maine”, passed away in February 2017. According to the Portland Press Herald (“the Herald”), Grant’s….
My Summer Vacation Continue Reading »
Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, In the News, Uncategorized
There are numerous technical traps a lawsuit can fall into which will need to be corrected before the matter moves forward. Generally speaking, the current norms of practice are for the parties to sort out any technical deficiencies between themselves so court time can be devoted to arguing the substantive issues in dispute. The Rules of Civil Procedure support this approach (see, for example, Rule 2 of the Rules of….
Death, Delay, and Dismissal Continue Reading »
Costs, Estate Litigation, Real EstateThis past week I met with two new clients who were both single women in their mid- 70’s. They both lived alone in their own condos and had retired from well-paying jobs. There were reaching out to EC to help guide them in thinking about and planning for a time when they would be less capable (both mentally and physically) of managing their own day to day needs. Thankfully, they….
Sharing the Caring Continue Reading »
Power of Attorney
As part of the ‘Donald’s’ post-election “promises” we heard rumours that US gift and estate taxes were going to be repealed. While we did not see a repeal, we did see a significant change to the rules related to US gift and estate tax. The particular change came forward in the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) which was signed into law on December 22, 2017. Specifically, the amendment….
Not All “Trump Bumpf” is Bluster Continue Reading »
Estate Planning, IRS, Tax Issues, United States, US Taxes