A short post this week: where do you keep your will? It’s important to have one; it’s useless if no one knows where it is. Make sure that your executor or someone else you trust knows where you have kept it for when the time comes. Save
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Happy Canada Day!
July 1st marks the day that Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec joined together to form the country of Canada. I hope that you are able to enjoy some time off today to celebrate the founding of our country. Save
Not leaving an equal split? Talk about it now
We humans like to think we like surprises – after all, who doesn’t love a surprise birthday party, or an unexpected gift delivered to the office? Where we most definitely don’t like surprises, though, are in estates. You are far more likely to leave bad feelings about...
When is the right time to buy a home?
Here’s a great video to give you some idea of whether to jump into a hot market. Save
Don’t forget about the personal items
In my experience, personal items cause vastly more problems in estate administration than their value would suggest. I’ve had clients fight over dining room sets that could have been replaced for under $1,000.00; the legal costs can vastly outstrip the cost of the...
Tax sales and superpriority liens
It always surprises me when I find out before closing a purchase or sale for a client that there are significant unpaid property taxes. While most people are aware of the requirement to pay them, I think that many don’t realize that municipalities actually have some...
Capital gains or probate tax?
I have been asked many times about transferring a property into joint names with a child in order to avoid probate tax. There are a few things to consider here: You may not avoid probate tax anyway. The government takes the position that, if an asset is an estate...
Repairs to be done on closing
It’s a fairly common scenario: you purchase a house with a condition on home inspection, the inspector finds something wrong, and the seller agrees to have it fixed on or before closing. What’s the problem? Well, it’s with the wording: on or before. That phrase means...
Choose the right executor
The person you choose as executor of your estate can either make it go smoothly or make it incredibly difficult, and expensive. Choosing a person who is in serious debt, or has addictions, or doesn’t get along with any of the other beneficiaries, or wants to please...
Can I build a pool?
Often, properties have restrictive covenants or easements that limit what you can do, often along the edges of your property. These can be things like limiting signage, not having a clothesline, or keeping several feet along the edge for water or sewer pipes....