Spouse

Young, Married, and Prepared: A First Experience with Wills and POAs

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As we head into Thanksgiving weekend, I am sharing a guest post written by my son. Earlier this year, he and his partner celebrated a beautiful wedding surrounded by family and friends. Like many life milestones, it prompted some important conversations about their future together, including what would happen if something unexpected occurred. In this post, he shares his experience with estate planning as a newlywed, and the process of….

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Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Spouse, Wills

Are Domestic Contracts Becoming More Popular?

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When I explain to people whom I’m meeting for the first time that I’m a lawyer and that among my areas of practice I draft domestic contracts, I’m often met with a response to the effect of “You mean, like, a pre-nup?” I can confirm that a “pre-nup” is, in fact, what I mean. In Ontario, they’re called domestic contracts, and they can take one of two forms: marriage contracts,….

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Contracts, Dependant Support, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Separation, Spouse

When Are You Married?

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Most know that you don’t have to be legally married to have a “spouse” for income tax purposes, although legal marriage will work. If you have been living with someone in a conjugal relationship for 12 months or more regardless of your sex at birth, you will be considered spouses for tax purposes. You can ignore the 12 month requirement if you are living together and you are both parents….

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Contested wills, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Spouse, Testamentary Capacity, Uncategorized, Wills

What Makes a Marriage?

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Each province in Canada establishes its own rules regarding the distribution of property where a person dies without a will. In Ontario, intestate succession is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”). Inheritance on intestacy is limited to married spouses and blood relations. If a person dies with a common law spouse, the spouse must commence a claim for dependant support pursuant to Part V….

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Dependant Support, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Spouse, Trustee

Which Comes First: Preferential Share or Mortgages?

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The Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) provides that if a married person dies intestate, the first $200,000 (called the “preferential share”) of the deceased’s net estate goes to the married spouse[i]. Any funds remaining after the payment of the preferential share is shared among the spouse and children. In Re Estate of Richard Lewis Crane (“Crane”), the deceased died intestate. He left a second wife and two sons from a previous marriage.  The….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Real Estate, Spouse, Succession Planning

Specificity Matters: Defining “Spouses” for Estate Planning Purposes

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When making testamentary or inter vivos gifts, parents sometimes want to ensure that provision is made for the spouses of their children, whether it is by including such individuals as potential beneficiaries of trusts or as recipients of outright gifts. ….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Spouse, Wills
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