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cesia@wall-arm.ca
When do I need to move out when I sell?
The short answer: as soon as the deal is closed. Many people have the mistaken idea that they have until midnight, or until 6pm, but neither of those is true. Once the transfer is registered, you are technically trespassing if you’re still there. The long answer,...
Cutting out your spouse
In Ontario, the only prohibitions on full freedom within your will are that you cannot cut out someone who is financially dependent on you, and you cannot prevent a spouse from what they would be entitled to if you had separated the day before your death. If you truly...
What do I need to have ready to sell my house?
If you are selling, there are some things that would always be helpful to have handy, both for your realtor and your lawyer, to ensure a smooth closing: Most recent tax bill. This is helpful to a buyer, and required for your lawyer to apportion the property taxes...
Estate planning for artists
Or authors, or musicians, or anyone who has copyrighted material. If this is you, then you definitely want to think about having a valid, up-to-date will in place to protect who has the right to use your copyrighted work after your death. Otherwise, you are leaving it...
Survey to be provided
We see a lot of documents in our office that are presented as surveys, but are not surveys. It is only a survey if it is stamped and signed by an Ontario Land Surveyor; if that is not what you have, don’t agree to provide a survey to a buyer. Also be careful about...
Are you in the majority?
You may not want to be. A recent survey found that 72% of Americans have either no will or an out-of-date will (done before a major life event such as having a child, for example). I imagine the same statistics hold true for Canadians. In this case, you most...
When does your spouse need to consent to a sale?
The short answer: when they are actually a spouse. There is a lot of confusion about who counts as a spouse in Ontario. For the purpose of consenting to the sale of a matrimonial home, however, you only need consent if you are legally married. A common law spouse is...
Inheriting a house
Sometimes, instead of a share of an estate, a person could be left a specific asset; sometimes, this is a house or cottage. If you do inherit, keep in mind that the executors will likely have to wait to transfer it to you until they have gone through the probate...
Why bridge financing can be a very good thing
I’ve had more than one sale this spring get extended, from one day to one month. When a client’s sale doesn’t close as scheduled, it can have serious consequences if they were counting on using those funds to buy something. Fortunately, none of them were affected...