The Ontario Estate Information Return – An Estate Trustee’s Nightmare

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As of January 1, 2015, a Regulation under the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, O Reg 310/14 requires estate trustees to give an Estate Information Return to the Ministry of Finance within 90 calendars days of a certificate of appointment of estate trustee (“Estate Certificate”) being issued. The Estate Information Return requires disclosure of a comprehensive list of information about the deceased person, including “a complete list of the assets….

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Estate Administration, Executors

The Art Collector and the Tax Deal

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[caption id="attachment_12949" align="aligncenter" width="300"] [/caption] A 1953 caricature of Douglas M. Duncan by Alan Reeve. Note the envelopes in his pocket at the lower right.   Douglas Duncan was a pioneering Canadian art dealer and ambitiously hapless businessman.   Known as the dealer and artistic executor of artist David B. Milne, he was legendary for his unopened mail, uncashed cheques and, yes, of course, failure to write a will.  Prior to….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Principal residence exemption and fire loss

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The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked to comment on the availability of the principal residence exemption (PRE) when a previously occupied property is destroyed by fire and a decision is made to sell the property in a later year. The taxpayer purchased a house in 2010 which was ordinarily inhabited as a principal residence.  In 2016, the house was completely destroyed by a fire and the taxpayer decided to move….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Cottage, Executors, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

What Gets Your Spidey Sense Tingling?

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If an older individual was brought to your law office by a non family member and they wanted to appoint the individual as POA for Property and Personal Care, would you be suspicious?  Or what about if the request was to either change a will or to make a will, naming this individual as a beneficiary? Would you be concerned then; and if so, what can you do? Would you….

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Capacity Law, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

The Honour of Being Named a Trustee?

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When you are appointed to act as a “trustee”, you are being asked to take on the control and management of property, but for the benefit of other persons, called the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are usually family members of the person who established the trust.  The person who established the trust may have done so during their lifetime, in which case they are called the “settlor” and the trust is….

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Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts, Trustee, Trusts

A Brief Review of Solicitor’s Negligence

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Claims against solicitors for negligence often arise in the context of estates cases, whether it be the failure of a lawyer to ensure that a testator’s wishes are accurately reflected in his/her will, to neglecting to confirm the testator had the requisite capacity and was not subject to undue influence in executing his/her last will. This blog provides a general overview of the current law of solicitor’s negligence and the….

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Estate Litigation, Liability, Wills
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