Power of Attorney

Total 163 Posts

Can We Prevent Elder Abuse?

I had the pleasure of attending last week’s Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ conference, titled “Elder Abuse and Manners of Protecting the Elderly”. It focused on financial abuse which is the most common form of elder abuse. It provided an excellent overview with a panel discussion presented and moderated by lawyers (Craig Vander Zee, Kim Whaley and Albert Oosterhoff), the Toronto Police Vulnerable Persons Coordinator (PC Jason Peddle) and….

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

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

Consolidate, for Efficiency’s Sake!

The 2014 Supreme Court decision, Hryniak v Mauldin, directly addressed the need to increase access to justice. In that case, the Supreme Court clarified and broadened a court’s fact-finding powers on summary judgment motions with the goal of providing litigants a faster procedure in appropriate cases. In the same spirit, there are other procedural tools available to streamline court proceedings and eliminate redundancy. In particular, Rule 6 of the Rules….

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Estate Litigation, Guardianship, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

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

Who is Your Substitute Decision-Maker?

Under the Heath Care and Consent Act  (“HCCA”), every person in Ontario has an automatic Substitute Decision-Maker (“SDM”) who can provide or refuse consent to medical treatment if the person becomes incapable of providing consent. However, there is still a great amount of confusion about SDMs and who they are, especially when a person has not appointed an attorney for personal care. Under s. 20 (1) of the HCCA, the….

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Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

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….

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

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