Total 675 Posts
An interesting case recently appeared in the Ontario Reports that highlights a risk in making an inter vivos gift of cash using a cheque, particularly where the donor is near death. In the case, Teixeria v. Estate of Markgraf et al., the donor, Mary Markgraf, was nearing her death. She continued to have capacity to make a will as well as inter vivos gifts. As part of her planning, Mary….
“Unlucky But Not Unfair” Continue Reading »
Uncategorized
This Blog was written by Carol Willes, One of our family’s favourite pastimes at the cottage is to build a roaring campfire and spend the evenings telling stories, singing along to guitar tunes and roasting the occasional marshmallow. Every so often, however, some unwelcome visitors show up and crash our campfire bliss. This generally happens when the fireside conversation turns to the future of the cottage once mom and dad….
Taming the Cottage Gremlins with a Non-Profit Organization Continue Reading »
Cottage, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Succession Planning, Uncategorized, Wills
In a previous post, I shared with you a number of interesting (often odd) requests and bequests in a last will and testament. Today, I share part two of some of the most interesting last wills and testaments in the last few centuries: Can we communicate with the dead? Harry Houdini is known for his magic tricks and illusions. He died on October 31, 1926, at the young age of….
What Will your Will Say? Part II Continue Reading »
UncategorizedIn what might be one of the last pipeline transactions my office will advise on (depending on the outcome of the Government of Canada tax proposals), I ran into an unfortunate situation which served to highlight a fundamental aspect of estate planning: Planning for your beneficiaries. Recently, I reached out to the beneficiaries of the estate I am working on to determine their personal tax positions for this current year…..
Will Planning for Beneficiaries Continue Reading »
Business Succession Planning, Disability, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills
Schizophrenia in adults is the most common illness causing psychosis (a loss of contact with reality, a lack of ability to tell what is real from what is not real in some way). Schizophrenia generally commences in late adolescence or less commonly after age 40 referred to as late onset schizophrenia in DSM-5. Seniors with schizophrenia will likely have had an early onset of the disease with chronic persistent mental….
Schizophrenia in Late Life and Impact on Decision-Making Capacity Continue Reading »
Disability, Elder Care, UncategorizedRecently, I wrote about the gifting of cash or assets during one’s lifetime as an alternative method of distributing your wealth (beyond what you need to live on comfortably) and possibly avoid taxes (probate, income etc.) at time of death. I suggested that your heirs could use the funds in a manner that will likely cost less tax: For example pay down some personal debt, apply it as a deposit….
GIFTS – Some Additional Thougths Continue Reading »
Canada Revenue Agency, Charitable Giving, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Loans, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Probate Tax, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized