Estate Administration

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Estate Planning for the Family Cottage

Much has been written in this blog space and many others on this topic. Several times a year (in some years more often than others), we are asked in our practice about to advise on succession or estate planning issues for the family cottage. I was recently alerted to a very good article called How to Estate Plan for the Family Cottage by Tim H. R. Brown of Richard, Buell….

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Cottage, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, In the News, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Real Estate, Resulting Trust, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Can a Prudent Investor have a Green Thumb?

This blog was written by Raluca Gondor You’re named executor of a green estate. You’ve arranged for a green burial in one of Ontario’s seven green cemeteries, have identified environmental charities in line with the testator’s wishes, and are now left to handle the estate’s investments. You’ve just arrived at this clause in the testator’s will: “My Trustees may make any investments that my Trustees in their discretion consider advisable,….

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Estate Administration, Investments

Divisional Court Appeals: Not The Place For New Issues

In Luck v. Hudson, 2020 ONSC 3811 (Div. Ct.), the Divisional Court confirmed that an appeal is not the time to raise new issues and seek directions regarding an estate. In this case, the deceased and his wife owned a house together jointly which then sold (it is not clear whether the house was sold before or after the deceased’s death). At some point, litigation was commenced. While the exact….

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Contested wills, Cottage, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Wills

Someone else’s tax bill – Sometimes there is no getting away from it!

In Dreger et al v the Queen (2020 TCC25), the beneficiaries of an estate bequest appealed assessments for unpaid taxes by the deceased. In this case, the deceased was an annuitant of a life income fund (“LIF”) and prior to his death, he designated to each of his daughters as his beneficiaries under a beneficiary designation in respect of the LIF. In his will, the deceased named his daughters as….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Investments, Liability, Tax Issues, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

A Presumptive Peril: The Law of Beneficiary Designations is Now in Flux

Calmusky v. Calmusky, 2020 ONSC 1506, is a 2020 decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that is ruffling some feathers among banks, financial advisors and estate planning lawyers in Ontario. In this case, the court applied the principles surrounding the presumption of resulting trust, established by the Supreme Court of Canada in Pecore v. Pecore, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 795, to two different issues related to a single estate. One….

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Credibility, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Joint Tenancy, Probate Tax, Resulting Trust, Trusts, Wills

WHAT ABOUT A CORPORATE EXECUTOR?

A lot has been written about how should choose an executor, and some of it in this blog place. A couple of years ago, fellow boggler Emily Hubling wrote eloquently about the risk and rewards of appointing a professional advisor as executor. I would like to revisit some of the points made in the context of appointing a corporate executor, some who is specifically skilled and trained for the role…..

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Attorney Compensation, Compensation, Credibility, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Fiduciary Professions, Trustee Compensation, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills
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