Last week, I wrote about how your digital assets are more than just social media. This week is all about dealing with those assets after you die. In the old days before the internet, finding a person’s assets was not so difficult. If you were the executor, you would...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
What happens if repairs aren’t done before closing?
This happens more often than you would think: your purchase offer states that the seller has to do certain repairs before closing, and they aren’t done. There are a few options when this happens. One is extending the closing until the work is done, which is usually...
Digital assets means more than just Facebook
I’ve written many times about the importance of including digital assets in your estate plan. It is something I discuss with all of my clients, because there is currently no law in Canada dealing with what happens with digital assets on the owner’s death. These laws...
Zombie mortgages
In our office, whenever we open a new sale file, the first thing we do is a quick title search on the property. While this isn’t legally necessary, as the buyer’s lawyer will eventually do a full title search, we have found it to be extremely useful because sometimes,...
Revenge of the will
In Ontario, we have full testamentary freedom, with one exception (that you can’t cut out a spouse or minor child who would be entitled to support). If you aren’t married or have a prenup, or don’t have children under 18 or who need support, then you can do pretty...
Be sure you qualify for a land transfer tax rebate before counting on it
The Ontario and Toronto governments have very clear rebates for first-time buyers on land transfer tax, which can save buyers thousands on each tax if they are truly first-time buyers and if they qualify. I have had several buyers recently who expected the rebate and...
What is the likelihood that you will die?
That’s a silly question, of course; we all will, eventually. The only question is who will die at 2, who will die at 50 and who will die at 117. And that is a question that none of us knows the answer to, which is why I always find it so surprising that so many people...
Breaking up is hard to do – especially if a house is involved
I have many clients who purchase homes with their spouse or common law partner. Some have been together a long time and have owned multiple properties together; some are recently merging their finances; some are moving in together for the first time. None of them...
A stress-free estate plan
Obviously, in a perfect world, we would all have estate plans in place that dealt with everything and would run smoothly when the time came. Since that is not the case, here are some tips to make yours a bit better: Determine who will manage your affairs if you become...
Don’t waive a condition until you know for sure
I’ve had this situation happen a few times lately when I have acted for the seller: the buyer waived the financing condition, or didn’t put in a condition of financing at all, and found out shortly before closing that their financing was not actually approved. How...