Wills

Total 466 Posts

Status Indians: From an Estate Planner’s Perspective

This blog was written by Andrew Ashenhurst, TEP – Associate Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management   A close friend of mine is actively involved in the Aboriginal space from both an economic and social development perspective. In his work he has often reached out to me with respect to Estate/Trust & incapacity planning topics. Through research and educating each other, I’ve learned of some interesting differences that….

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Estate Administration, Power of Attorney, Uncategorized, Wills

Difficult Conversations: With Our Children

All of the writers (and presumably the readers as well) know the importance of having their ‘important paper’ work completed. For me, most importantly this means completing Powers of Attorney for both Property and Personal care as well as Advanced Care Directives. For you, perhaps the ‘most importantly’ may be the Will, but regardless we can all agree that these are all key documents for living (and for dying) well…..

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Power of Attorney, Wills

To Remove or Not to Remove… That is the Question (with apologies to the bard)

Estates tell a million stories and the case of Ford v Mazman, 2019 ONSC 542, is just one of them. Mary died on April 3, 2017. Mary’s 2004 Will named her two nieces, Laura and Carleen, as sole beneficiaries. Mary appointed her close friend, Seta, as her estate trustee/executor. Laura had travelled to Ontario from BC to spend two weeks with Mary while she was in hospital. Shortly after Laura….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Wills

Rest assured, a will is not a trust

The past few months have been quite dramatic for estate lawyers; both on the drafting and litigation end.  As many of our readers know, Justice Dunphy stirred the pot in the estate world with his decision in Milne Estate (Re).  To recap, in the Milne decision, a husband and wife died on the same day.  They each left mirror primary and secondary wills.  Each of the primary and secondary wills….

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Trusts, Wills

Lucid Intervals and Testamentary Capacity

As I understand, “lucid interval” is a legal doctrine that holds that testamentary capacity may exist at a moment in time even though the testator’s general state would be inconsistent with the conclusion that he possessed testamentary capacity.[i] The idea is that an individual who suffers from mental illness or a neurological condition may have periods in which his or her ability to reason and make thoughtful choices is preserved…..

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Wills

Estate Planning for Pets

Today’s blog was written by K. Thomas Grozinger, LL.B, C.S., TEP[1] Principal Trust Specialist, Professional Practice Group RBC Estate & Trust Services Will the holiday season bring a new pet into the family scene? Pets are often considered part of the family, with one survey suggesting that almost 20% of dog owners celebrate their pet’s birthday![2] So it’s no surprise that Canadians want to make sure that their pets are….

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Estate Planning, In the News, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Trusts, Wills
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