Guardianship

Total 84 Posts

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

Appointing a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property to Family vs. Statutory Guardianship; which is truly better?

Most seniors appoint a continuing power of attorney for property (CPOAP) for the sole purpose of not wanting the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (PG&T) to assume statutory guardianship of property under the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA) or Mental Health Act (MHA) should the person become incapable. The majority appoint a family member who they assume they can trust. But is this always the best outcome? Can one anticipate the….

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Elder Care, Elder Law, Geriatric Care Management, Guardianship, Power of Attorney

The Psychology of Decision Making by Attorneys for Personal Care – What You Won’t Learn in the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA)

In a nutshell, the duty of Attorneys for Personal Care under the SDA is to act as a substitute decision-maker (SDM) for proposed healthcare interventions if the person is incapable of making that decision, and in doing so, to make decisions in the person’s best interests and in keeping with prior expressed wishes if possible. The SDA provides guidance to those acting as an SDM in how to determine best interests,….

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Caregiving, Elder Care, Elder Law, Guardianship

QUALIFIED DISABILITY TRUST (“QDT”): HOW TO FILE A JOINT ELECTION?

Recently, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) issued a “how to file” the joint election for a trust to be a QDT: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t3qdt/README.html From 2016 forward, this form is to be used if one or more beneficiaries are jointly electing that the trust be designated to be QDT for the year. The form should be filed with the trust return (T3) for the year. The filing of a joint election designates….

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Capacity Law, Disability, Estate Administration, Guardianship, Tax Issues, Testamentary Capacity, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized

Capacity Issues – who are you going to call?

Capacity to grant and revoke a power of attorney (POA) for property and personal care and incapacity to manage property and personal care is defined by legislation in Ontario by the Substitute Decisions Act. However testamentary capacity (capacity to make a will) is not defined by provincial legislation. Assessors from the Ministry the Attorney General can provide formal assessments of incapacity to manage property and personal care that can result in….

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Capacity Law, Elder Law, Guardianship, Power of Attorney, Testamentary Capacity

Guardianship Decisions – The Sequel

This Blog was written by: Natalie Rouse Last week I wrote about some basic matters to consider when appointing someone as a child’s guardian. The person named as a guardian in a will must have that appointment confirmed in court. Courts are more likely to accept the appointment of a parent as guardian versus a non-parent. However, if there’s no suitable other parent, or in the case where both parents….

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Estate Planning, Guardianship, Uncategorized
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