Capacity Law

Total 144 Posts

What Gets Your Spidey Sense Tingling?

If an older individual was brought to your law office by a non family member and they wanted to appoint the individual as POA for Property and Personal Care, would you be suspicious?  Or what about if the request was to either change a will or to make a will, naming this individual as a beneficiary? Would you be concerned then; and if so, what can you do? Would you….

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Capacity Law, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

Capacity Assessments and Biases to Beware of

Capacity assessments regarding capacity to manage property, testamentary capacity or capacity to appoint a power of attorney for property (POA), whether conducted contemporaneously or retrospectively, rely upon whatever materials/information that is provided to an assessor to review. Materials may include relevant medical records, previous wills and POA documents, interview of the person if done contemporaneously or videos and/or audio recordings of the deceased if retrospective, and affidavits within legal briefs…..

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Capacity Law, Elder Law, Estate Litigation, Guardianship, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Testamentary Capacity

My Best Interests, and Yours Too?

The recent case of Tarantino v. Galvano, 2017 ONSC 3535, raises a variety of issues familiar to estate litigators – powers of attorney, capacity, quantum meruit claims, the duty to account and the rules surrounding the removal of an estate’s executor. In this case the deceased, Rosa Filippo Galvano (“Rosa”) had two daughters, Nellie Galvano (“Nellie”) and Giuseppina Bucci (“Giuseppina”), who died in 2007. Giuseppina had two daughters, Rosa Pignatelli and….

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Attorney Compensation, Capacity Law, Caregiving, Compensation, Contracts, Elder Care, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts, POA Compensation, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Wills

The Law Commission of Ontario Seeks Public Consultation

The Law Commission of Ontario’s (LCO) Improving the Last Stages of Life project released two final research papers ahead of publishing its consultation paper. The LCO’s project examines how Ontario laws are shaping the quality of life of dying people and how end of life care can be improved in Ontario through a better understanding of the law by healthcare workers, patients, and substitute decision-makers. It also considers recommendations for….

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Capacity Law, Caregiving, Elder Law, In the News

When is a Minor a Major or Super Minor and What Does it Mean?

At law, a child under the age of 18 is considered a party under disability (i.e. a “minor”).  As a result, a minor is treated somewhat differently by the courts.  For example, a minor must be represented by a court appointed litigation guardian in civil court proceedings.  In addition, limitation periods do not run against a minor’s interest until such time as a litigation guardian is appointed.  But not all….

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Capacity Law, Estate Litigation

The Ten D’s of Geriatric Psychiatry

In my consulting work, I have provided independent medical/legal assessments of seniors regarding capacity to sign powers of attorney, capacity to manage property and personal care, capacity to marry, capacity to provide instructions, capacity to provide evidence and both retrospective and contemporaneous assessments of testamentary capacity and capacity to provide inter vivos gifts. I have been accredited as an expert witness in contemporaneous and retrospective assessments by the Ontario Superior….

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Capacity Law, Disability, Elder Care, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Geriatric Care Management, Testamentary Capacity
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