Laura E. West – All About Estates

Specificity Matters: Defining “Children” and “Issue” for Estate Planning Purposes

Laura West • September 13, 2011

In a previous blog, I wrote about the need for specificity when drafting provisions that include a “spouse” of a particular person as a potential beneficiary of an estate or trust.

Attention is also needed to ensure that when a Will refers to terms such as “children” or “issue”, the persons included within these classes are those that the testator intends to benefit. This is particularly true in the current age, where there are an increasing number of different types of relationships and manners of having children…..

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Estate Planning

Remembering Estate Planning During and After a Separation

Laura West • August 25, 2011

The recent endorsement issued by Justice P.C. Hennessy in Makarchuk v. Makarchuk, 2011 ONSC 4633 serves as a reminder of the importance of considering estate planning issues when spouses are separating…..

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Separation

U.S. Estate Tax Debate Continues

Laura West • August 9, 2011

As world attention appears to be increasingly focused on the economic news coming from the United States, and the various political debates in that country regarding deficit reduction and tax policy, I thought it would be interesting and timely to draw readers attention to a recent Reuters article that profiles a leader of the U.S. political movement to repeal estate taxes…..

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United States, US Taxes

Litigation Involving the Estate of the Godfather of Soul

Laura West • July 21, 2011

A recent on-line article in Rolling Stone magazine describes how nearly five years following the death of the legendary James Brown, his estate, which had a value of approximately $100 million dollars on the date of his death, remains undistributed…..

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Estate Litigation, Family Conflict

Small Business Estate Planning: Choosing Estate Trustees

Laura West • July 5, 2011

The small business owner’s choice of estate trustees is very important to the successful administration of his or her estate and succession of his or her small business. Many factors should be considered when such a choice is being made…..

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Estate Planning, Trustee

Finding the Deceased’s Last Will

Laura West • June 16, 2011 • 1 Comment

It is sometimes difficult for family members to find a deceased’s Will or to ascertain whether a particular Will is in fact her “last” Will.
The deceased may have stored his Will at his solicitor’s office, in his safety deposit box or among his possessions, or with some other individual altogether. ….

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Estate Planning, Wills