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Celebrating

our 10th year
blog anniversary

Category: Thought Leadership

Redefining Family

Sometimes the law leads in pushing societal change forward, but often it lags far behind, particularly in the face of scientific innovation and rapid technological change. Over the past forty years or so, even how we define family has been subject to fundamental change, and in the future it will

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Filtering Out the Noise in Your Estate Planning

You’ve heard it before: there’s a lot of information out there these days. Thousands of hours of Youtube content are uploaded every day. Wikipedia entries are updated every minute. Blogs are written, websites created and refreshed. You can find information, accurate or not, on just about any subject, no matter

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Zen and the Art of Estate Plan Maintenance

You may remember the bestseller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which explores many themes, including the dichotomy between the “romantic” approach to life versus the “classical” approach–in the moment versus rational analysis–and the common ground linking them. The sense of mastery and peace of mind that comes with

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Canada, the U.S. and Going Borderless: Nowhere to Hide

Perspective is important and illuminating–only about fifteen years ago, or perhaps even less, it was not common to have to consider the impact our Canadian and U.S. tax and legal regimes have on estate planning and our affairs in general. The 49th parallel and the world’s longest undefended border symbolized

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The Changing Face of Global Tax Transparency

High net worth individuals have been criticized (especially during election years) for not paying their fair share of taxes. These individuals often take advantage of legitimate tax planning strategies to lower their taxes. A portion, though, utilize evasive strategies that rely on a general lack of tax transparency between countries

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Family Meetings: An Underutilized Tool

In our August 18, 2015 post we raised the idea of regular check-ups for your estate plan in order to keep it current. Periodic reviews help to keep you refreshed about the details of your estate plan so that it can be maintained and changed when necessary–ensuring it will carry

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Proactive Charitable Giving: A Balancing Act

Charity begins at home, so they say. This may be where it starts, but your estate plan is where your charity may end. Most of us will donate time or money to one cause or another during our lifetimes (who doesn’t love Girl Guide cookies?). When we die, however, our

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Confidentiality Matters: Thoughts on Death and Privacy

Privacy and the protection of personal data are a major concern in modern society. Complicated privacy legislation exists in many jurisdictions with the objective of protecting personal information by imposing multiple safeguards, some of which can be frustrating to deal with. With the increasing stores of digital information, we also

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Keeping Your Estate Plan Healthy with Periodic Check-Ups

Your estate plan may only be truly up-to-date the day you sign your estate planning documents. This statement no doubt may dismay you and perhaps be unwelcome, in particular given the effort, time and expense that goes into preparing wills, trusts and powers of attorney. The reality is that our

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