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Toronto Ontario Estate Law Blog
The Preferential Share and Common Law Spouses on an Intestacy: Time for Some Updates
On an intestacy (when a person dies without a will), each Canadian province and territory provides for a mandatory scheme to distribute a deceased person’s property, which is typically between their surviving spouse and children, if any, and alternately to other relatives. Some provinces and territories provide a spouse with
Choosing an Attorney for Personal Care: Life and Death Matters
Preparing a Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a critical part of your estate plan. It offers the ability to choose one or more family members or others who will make personal care decisions for you when you do not have the capacity to do so. A Power of
The Move Towards More Inclusive Drafting in Wills
This past summer, history was made at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when Canadian soccer player, Quinn, became the first openly transgendered and non-binary athlete to not only compete at the Olympics, but to also win an Olympic medal (which happened to be gold, by the way!). Quinn’s journey to the
Second Spouse, Second Chance for Estate Claims
We all know that divorce rates are high, and common law relationships are increasingly, well, common. You may not know that a very high percentage of divorced individuals will eventually remarry, and more than one in four Canadians who are in a spousal relationship are in their second or subsequent
Personal Tax Measures: What Does the Future Hold?
It is likely an understatement that worldwide there is a sense of trepidation among taxpayers on what measures governments will take to raise tax revenues to pay for the pandemic, and as well to respond to increasing wealth inequality, which the pandemic has exacerbated. A brief survey of what governments
The Gift That Keeps Giving: Making Charitable Gifts Under Your Will
It’s important in the context of estate planning to consider whether you wish to benefit any charities after your death. Including a gift under your will is a good opportunity to make a gift that may otherwise not have been possible while alive or to increase the quantum of a
“Should I Stay or Should I Go”: When Should You Decline Acting as Executor?
In previous blogs, “Avoiding Executor Dissent” and “Key Considerations in Choosing your Executors,” we have stressed the importance of choosing the right executor and provided some considerations for appointing executors. Being an executor is not easy. Time and time again, we see executors who are not only surprised by their appointment
So, You Haven’t Made a Power of Attorney?
In our Advisory “Planning for Incapacity Using a Power of Attorney”, we discuss the benefits of having powers of attorney for personal care (medical and other care decisions) and for property (assets and financial decisions), and provide some information regarding powers of attorney and how they function in Ontario, including
Domestic Contracts Across Borders
There are many considerations that go into deciding to relocate to a new jurisdiction. What may not be so apparent, or unfortunately what may even be at the bottom of the to-do list, is ensuring any legal documentation is effective. It may come as a surprise to individuals moving to
Why Integrity is So Important in Providing Trust and Estate Advice
It is now the height of summer, and a good time to take a breath and reflect a bit before the hurly burly of the fall descends upon us. And so, I turn to the topic of the importance of integrity in providing trust and estate advice. What do we
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