Elder Care Gaps In Divorce And Blended Families

5 or 6 couples in their 30s and 40s posing for a photo in the forest

Elder care gaps occur as family structures change, and there may be unanticipated and challenging consequences. For parents who have long divorced, those who have remarried, and those with blended families, this may mean that adult children are now dealing with three or more parents and stepparents. As the caregiver burden increases, blended families become more complex, and the potential for conflict increases. Impacts of Divorce and Blended Families on….

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Caregiving, Elder Care, Elder Management, Power of Attorney, Smart Ageing

From Estate to Heir: Who Foots the Bill for Shipping Expenses?

One of the main duties of an executor is to distribute the assets of an estate according to the terms of the Will. Typically, it is easy to pay a cash legacy to a beneficiary or to deliver a specific bequest if the beneficiary lives nearby. But what happens if you have to send large pieces of furniture, an expensive art collection, or a prized collector car to a beneficiary….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, Trustee, Wills

I am Ready and Willing – When do I Start? Activating a Power of Attorney for Property

This article is written by Alicia Mossington, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotiatrust.   A Power of Attorney for Property is a document which allows an individual (grantor) to appoint and authorize a substitute decision maker. In Ontario, the substitute decision maker is referred to as an “attorney.” The named attorney or attorneys typically have a broad scope of power and under section 7(2) of the Substitute Decisions Act (the….

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Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Property, Uncategorized

Why Should it Come Out of My Share of the Estate?

Often when an estate is involved in litigation to address the conduct of an uncooperative beneficiary, the other beneficiaries expect that the estate trustee’s court costs will be paid from the share of the “problem” beneficiary.  However, as lawyers like to say “it depends.” In a recent Ontario case, an estate trustee brought a court application seeking immediate access and the vacant possession of the Deceased’s house, the primary asset….

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Estate Litigation

Estate Planning and the Indian Act: Considerations for Spouses Without Indian Status

Maddi Thomas associate Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Estate planning presents several unique considerations for Indigenous peoples to whom the Indian Act applies: i.e., First Nation peoples who possess Indian status (“status”) and who “ordinarily reside”[1] on reserve land.[2] To be clear, while the term “Indian” may not be appropriate to use in most circumstances, the phrase still possesses legal meaning under the Indian Act as an Indigenous person “with status” and thus in certain….

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Spouse, Succession Planning, Wills

The Government of Ontario on Mental Capacity

The Government of Ontario has a website specifically dedicated to issues concerning and relating to mental capacity (the “Website”). The Website is a place where individuals can learn more regarding mental capacity, how it is evaluated, who evaluates it, and how to appeal a finding of incapacity. Of course, these are the types of issues which are often engaged in the world of estate litigation. The Website links readers to….

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