Think of your siblings, or perhaps your closest friends. Could you buy a home with them? As in, have permanent, legal roommates? This is a new trend, mostly among millennials who are finding themselves priced out of hot housing markets. In Toronto, for example,...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Don’t set it and forget it
I have had multiple clients come to see me over the past several months because they need to update their wills. The wills were all at least 20 years old; they named family members as executors who had long since died or become incapacitated, they had complex trusts...
Happy holidays!
We're taking a break from the office, so I'm taking a break from the blog. I wish you and your family a very happy holiday season, and we'll see you in 2017. Save Save Save
When it comes to real estate, pay attention to the details
There is a lot of fine print in the real estate industry. Purchase and sale agreements, mortgage commitments...there's a lot there that most people don't read too closely. Ultimately, you should, but if you're not going to, you need to at least be aware of what could...
How (not) to sign a will
One of the easiest things to do wrong on a homemade will (one done through a kit) is in the signing. Signing your own name at the bottom is not the problem; getting witnesses is. I was recently asked if a will was valid based on the fact that one of the beneficiaries...
Keep your proof that your house is where you live for when you sell it
A short time ago, the federal government introduced changes to reporting requirements for selling houses. These rules do not change the actual tax - there are still full exemptions most of the time if it's your principal residence - but now you have to make a...
What do you say instead of “died”?
I often hear that someone passed away or passed, or that someone is dearly departed, because "died" seems so harsh. But what is the most common way to hide that particular word? Here's an interesting map of what the most common euphemism is for "died" in each part of...
Buying under a power of sale
When the housing market shifts, whether from loss of value or from increased interest rates, an unfortunate consequence is often an increase in properties that are sold under power of sale, or sold by the mortgage lender in order to pay back the mortgage. This...
Keeping up to date
I generally recommend that my clients look at their estate planning documents every few years to make sure they are still appropriate, and update about every 10 as the law will change. What is also important is to keep in mind that there are other documents that need...
Selling when you aren’t a Canadian resident
If you are not a Canadian resident, or will not be on the day of closing, budget for getting a lot less money on the day of closing. Tax laws in Canada may require that you pay capital gains tax, and so your lawyer could have to hold back up to 25% of the sale price...