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Toronto Ontario Estate Law Blog
Bridging the Common Law-Civil Law Succession Divide
For those of us who live and work in a common law world, it is hard to imagine that we are by far the minority. Most of the world is governed by a civil law regime, customary law or religious law. Continental Europe, Russia, China, Japan, South America, Mexico and
Beneficial Ownership Disclosure: Only the Latest Hit
People often wish to ensure confidentiality in doing their estate planning as an important goal. A trust is a common vehicle to do so, since court probate processes, which have been around for centuries, are public and once a will is probated it becomes a public document. The current government
Heads Up On Cross-Border Probate
With increased mobility, it’s becoming more common to have assets in several jurisdictions, in which case, it is important to create a comprehensive estate plan that considers all of your assets and not just the assets located where you live. To deal with assets in more than one jurisdiction, there
Breaking the Silence: Dealing With Mental Health Issues in Estate Planning
One of the benefits that a trust and estate lawyer like myself enjoys is that we deal with people of every background, age and personality type and often in very profound ways. In short, we encounter all the diversity that humanity can offer. We see many family situations which gives
How Old (or Not) Should Your Executor Be?
One issue which people planning their estates frequently struggle with is who to appoint as their executor. The choice for this important role deserves serious consideration. There are many factors to be taken into account in selecting the right person, one of which is his or her age. Your executor’s
Can You Disinherit Your Child?
The family landscape is changing with increases in blended families, matrimonial breakdown and cohabiting. This may mean shifting family dynamics and relationships, which will likely translate to more complex estate planning. A parent may not want to pass his or her property to a child for a number of reasons.
Moving On Up: The Transition to Wealth
The psychology of wealth is emerging as a distinct area of academic study and research. With aging baby boomers, and the trillion dollar wealth transfer that is now beginning to take place, we need to know more about wealth, how it impacts families, and how to successfully transition wealth. The
Outside Marriage, Outside Your Estate? Boilerplate Clauses and Modern Families
One of the most important aspects of estate planning for families is ensuring that everyone who is considered to be part of the family is able to share in the family wealth after death. While each holder of family wealth has different views on how and when this should occur,
Update on Medical Assistance in Dying
It is timely to consider the topic of medical assistance in dying. Since June 17, 2016, three years ago last week, Canadian law has recognized as a fundamental human right to be protected by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms the right to have assisted dying. On that date, Parliament
The True Role of the Trusted Advisor
Much has been written in recent years about the role of the “trusted advisor”. A trusted advisor plays a key role in achieving client goals in their best interests and is worth their weight in gold. To do so, a trusted advisor needs to be able to provide clients with
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