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Toronto Ontario Estate Law Blog
Estate Planning Considerations for Blended Families
Blended families have become common, raising additional complexity for estate planning primarily due to differences in family dynamics and objectives. A failure to take these differences into account often leads to acrimony and disputes, which may irreparably damage family relations and thwart the estate plan. To minimize disputes and to
On Death and Dying: The Supreme Court of Canada’s Landmark Decision in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General)
There is no doubt that Carter has caused an enormous cultural shift for Canadians as Canada joins the few but growing number of jurisdictions that have decriminalized physician-assisted dying, including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and in the United States, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. In a nutshell, in
So You Don’t Want to Be a U.S. Citizen?
Statistics tell us that the number of U.S. citizens who expatriated from, or renounced, their U.S. citizenship has risen dramatically in the past few years. A big part of this rise has to do with increasingly onerous U.S. income tax filing and reporting obligations, combined with scrutiny of foreign accounts
Dispute-Proofing Your Estate Plan
It’s common knowledge that we are at the leading edge of an avalanche of wealth transfer. Baby boomers in increasing numbers are heading into their retirement years and beyond. The succession of capital that will occur is unprecedented. In the recent past, we’ve also seen higher average annual divorce rates
The Importance of Updating your Affairs on Separation and Divorce
Updating your estate plan on separation and divorce in a timely manner is critical in order to avoid unintended results, possible later disputes, and even litigation. The following highlights some of the most common concerns, as well as precautions to take. Wills Generally, in Ontario the Succession Law Reform Act
A New Protective Regime for an Aging Society?
If you have a child or spouse, you may be surprised to learn that you have no automatic right to manage their property should they become incapable and unable to make decisions unaided. Capable adults in Ontario can make a continuing power of attorney for property to allow one or
New Ontario Estate Administration Tax Act Regime Effective January 1, 2015
Organizing one’s estate planning to minimize estate administration taxes or “probate fees” (the tax collected by the Ontario government on the date of death value of a deceased’s estate when an estate representative applies to the court for a certificate of appointment) has been a popular goal for Ontarians given
Heads Up: Grappling with Family Law’s Treatment of Discretionary Trust Interests
Discretionary trusts are common estate planning tools used for a variety of reasons such as tax minimization and general wealth protection, including protection on matrimonial breakdown and from creditors. These trusts are often used in an estate freeze where shares in privately-held corporations are “frozen” to defer capital gains liability
Beneficiary Designations – Problems and Pitfalls of Using Financial Institutions’ Standard Forms
The case of Kilitzoglou v. Cure highlights the confusion and difficulty sometimes caused when an issuer of a life insurance policy or retirement plan requires a beneficiary designation to conform to its standard form and rules. In that case, the deceased filed a change of beneficiary designation form with Trans-America
Ethical Wills
You may or may not have heard of the term “ethical will”. An ethical will doesn’t deal with money or assets, but instead with values, beliefs, words of wisdom, inner thoughts, and family history and tradition. We predict it will become a more common part of the estate planning process
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