Kristie Smith

The internet has transformed the way we live our lives. Should it transform our Powers of Attorney too?

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A report released in early 2024 reported that the average adult internet user spends six hours and 40 minutes every day online.[1] The typical social media user spends just shy of two and a half hours on social media per day.[2] Though some internet and social media use can of course be beneficial – driving social connections, providing educational opportunities, fostering creativity, to name a few – they have a….

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Estate Planning, Power of Attorney

‘Til death do us part … the bank accounts: A warning for common-law couples

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This Blog was written by: Kristie Smith, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotia Wealth Management  Summer is upon us, in all its glory. After a pandemic hiatus, my calendar is dotted with weddings to attend for friends and family members. But is this summer spectacle going the way of the dodo? I don’t think so, but marriage is certainly on the decline in Canada. Statistics Canada reported last year that 2020….

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The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg

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This Blog was written by: Kristie Smith, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotia Wealth Management  Last week marked the 104th anniversary of death of Saginaw, Michigan lumber baron – and, evidently, eccentric millionaire – Wellington Burt, but only the 12th anniversary of the settlement and distribution of his estate. His is a story of second families, family feuds, philanthropy, spite, legal challenges. His story is chronicled in some detail in various….

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“Death and Taxes”

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This Blog was written by: Kristie Smith, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotia Wealth Management  As we have all heard many times in the estate planning community, and as Benjamin Franklin famously remarked, nothing is certain but death and taxes. From the Covid era and then ‘back to normal’; from Elizabeth II to Charles III; from record market runs to record corrections… 2022 has been a year of unpredictability, and that….

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The Other COVID “Longhaul”? Estate Planning Sequelae of Irregular Document Execution

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This Blog was written by: Kristie Smith, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotia Wealth Management  As we emerge from the Covid restriction era and a new normal comes into focus in our day-to-day lives, new symptoms and side effects of Covid are coming into view. In the estate planning realm, in particular, the effects of irregularly signed documents are upon us. As the initial lockdowns of March 2020 took over, practitioners….

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Wills
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