To Gift or Not to Gift?

This blog post was written by: Diana Leopardi, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust Montreal Many people would have their cake and eat it too. Meaning, many people want to enjoy their retirement years while also plan for a lasting legacy to their next generation. How can this be done? What are some options? An insured annuity is a tax efficient strategy that produces a guaranteed income stream for the duration….

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Estate Planning, Insurance

To Trust or Not to Trust?

This blog was written by Ruth Paul, student-at-law The recent decision in May v. Alsousi et al., 2025 ONSC 795 (CanLII) reiterates that when establishing a trust, attention should be paid to the legal requirements of that particular trust, as failure to do so risks denying a beneficiary access to the trust. Qasem Mahmud (the “Deceased”) died in June 2017 without a Will. In September 1988, the Deceased signed a….

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Uncategorized

Inflation factor in hotchpot

Today’s blog was written by Kelsey Buchmayer, associate with the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Including an inflation adjustment clause in a Will where the circumstances so warrant can help with achieving fairness. The fairness can be as simple as ensuring monetary values expressed in a Will are brought up to the real dollar value as at the date of death using an inflation factor. A less obvious….

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Wills

Lifestyle Changes Bring Increased Risk to Older Clients

Managing an elder’s journey late in life is not for the faint of heart. Ask a partner or family member – it is complicated, frustrating, rewarding, and exhausting at the same time. Given our rapidly aging population, we need to rethink our planning paradigm for older clients and actively shift to planning for a 100-year life. While a lifespan may be 100 years, people may find that their health span….

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Elder Management, Power of Attorney, Smart Ageing

Turbulent Times and Estate Planning

This blog has been written by Rahul Sharma, Partner, at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto The world is changing very fast and conversations that I am having with people today include generous helpings of “T” words other than “tax” and “trust.”  I could try to keep count of how many times I hear the word “tariff”, but the score is obviously high.  So much so, in fact, that even my elementary….

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Estate Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, valuation

Is it a Handwritten Note or Will?

This blog post was written by: Alicia Mossington, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust London Historically in Ontario, a Last Will and Testament was required to meet strict formal validity requirements to be considered valid. The requirements set out in the Succession Law Reform Act required a Will to be in writing and signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses who also signed the document. There was a….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Testamentary Capacity, Wills
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