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Category: Blog

Using Letters of Wishes to Guide your Guardians

In Ontario, a standard guardianship clause in a will where there are minor children typically appoints one or more guardians, may include alternate ones, and will usually refer to the need to obtain a permanent appointment by the court pursuant to the Children’s Law Reform Act[1] (please refer to my

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At Which Age Should Children Inherit?

Life spans are increasing. Consider that in Canada over the last decade alone, life expectancy for those who reach 65 has climbed by two years, and men on average who are 65 today can expect to live to 84 and women to 87, while half of Canadians age 20 today

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A Happy Ending for Basket Clauses

Many people who live or have assets in Ontario are concerned about the amount of Estate Administration Tax (probate fees or “EAT”) that will be payable on their death given the high rate of approximately 1.5% of the value of estate assets. One common estate planning technique for minimizing EAT

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Posthumous Use of Reproductive Tissue: Who Decides?

The law concerning assisted reproductive technology (“ART”) occupies a unique space where the autonomy of the human body intersects with property rights, which historically at common law did not extend to the human body or body parts. The world’s first in-vitro baby was born in 1978, but it was only

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Never Too Young To Start: Family Law Considerations for Millennials

In a prior blog on millennials and estate planning, we discussed its importance for the younger generation and the unintended consequences that can result from failing to have proper planning in place. In today’s blog, we hope to take that notion a step further by discussing family law implications that

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The Movement to Transparency and the Erosion of Privacy

We live in a world in which personal privacy is under siege, or perhaps simply not valued as much by many as it was by prior generations. As we reach the end of 2018, this year has seen a number of scandals involving significant data breaches and cyber hacking involving

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Unknown Unknowns: Pension Rights and Estate Planning

While it is less common these days for employment benefits to include a pension, many individuals still do have either a pension (not including the Canada Pension Plan, which is subject to its own rules and which is not the subject of this blog) or a locked-in retirement account (LIRA)

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