Estate Administration

Total 501 Posts

When Will a Court Reconsider Its Decision?

Judges cannot reconsider their decision – once an order is issued, the judge’s job (and jurisdiction to hear further arguments) is done. In very limited cases, a party may ask the court to reconsider after the decision is released but before a formal order is taken out. However, the test to meet is high…..

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Appeals, Capacity Law, Contested wills, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Wills

This Blog Was Written by a Bot

The Advent of AI Technology Last week, I read a tongue-in-cheek post on LinkedIn about what the dockets of a lawyer practising in the 1950’s may have looked like. Humorous entries included everything from fixing jammed typewriters to doing legal research with ancient tomes. This lawyer’s social critique was insightful: technology has greatly improved the private practitioner’s efficiency, but it has not made it easier to meet billable targets. Technological….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning

What Happens if Something Happens to your Executor?

Choosing who to name as the executor of your estate is an important decision to make when preparing your will (and a topic on which other All About Estates blogs have been written). But what happens if something happens to your executor, and they are unable or unwilling to act? Who will administer your estate? This blog will explore the scenario of an executor dying before the testator (the writer….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, Wills

Trust and estates beware of the new Underused Housing Tax

The recently enacted Underused Housing Tax Act[i] (UHTA) applies a one per cent tax on the ownership of vacant or underused housing in Canada. Per the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) published notification[ii] on Jan 17, 2023, “the vast majority of Canadian owners of residential property are excluded owners and, therefore, do not have any obligations and liabilities under the UHTA. However, the underused housing tax is payable by certain Canadian….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Tax Issues, Trustee

Valuation of Interests in Discretionary trusts and Family Law

These days, it is quite common to find intergenerational wealth transfer to consist of property held in a discretionary family trust whose beneficiaries may or may not have been in marital relationships at the time of the time the trusts were created. A siginifcant number of legal and financials issues related to these trusts in family law, including the determination of what is considered “included” and “excluded” family property before….

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Business Succession Planning, Contracts, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Investments, Property, Real Estate, Resulting Trust, Separation, Small Business, Spouse, Trusts, valuation

Digital Assets: How Advisors are Changing the World

While I enjoy writing about the legal aspects of digital assets in estate planning and administration, I don’t think that I have spent enough time focusing on the work of the wonderful advisors in this space: technology consultants, lawyers and policy analysts among them. The efforts of these advisors have helped shape the law, internationally, in an area where legal guidance has desperately been needed. As time goes on, I….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, International
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