I speak to a lot of people about estate planning, and some of them hire me to draft documents for them. Most people don’t see estate planning as having any urgency, so they put it off, sometimes indefinitely. Then I came across this post from the Wills, Trusts and...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
The joint tenancy trap
In my estates practice, I see a lot of people ask me about adding a child on title to their house in order to avoid probate. I usually talk them out of it. There are a number of reasons this can be a very bad idea: You can’t change your mind later without the child’s...
A Facebook legacy
Here’s some more Facebook news: as of February 12, 2015, you can name a legacy contact in Facebook. The feature is currently only available in the US, but will likely be rolled out to other countries over the coming months. Basically, you will be able to name a...
Friending
A friend emailed me the other day, asking if I would represent her for her house purchase in Guelph. While I would have been happy to do so, the Law Society requires me to physically examine her ID in order to confirm she is who she says she is, and it would have been...
Post-death conception
Last fall, Apple and Facebook made news by announcing that they would cover the cost of any female employee who wished to freeze her eggs in order to preserve her fertility for having a biological child later in life. There has been both criticism and applause for the...
Changing your mind
It doesn’t happen often, but a few times over the years, I have had clients call me to let me know that they had firm agreements to sell their homes and had changed their mind and wanted out. They wanted to know if there was any chance that they could do so. The short...
Abandoning the term “do not resuscitate”
Following up on my post from last week, I read this very interesting article a while ago that I have been wanting to share. In it, the author argues for getting rid of the term “do not resuscitate” and replacing it with “allow natural death” instead. He explains that...
The flood
A few weeks ago, I wrote about whether you have to disclose a ghost in your home. What happens if there is something a bit more concrete, such as a flood? And what if it happens after the agreement is signed? Generally speaking, damage is divided into latent and...
Dying well
Last week, I wrote about the incredible importance of a properly-drafted property power of attorney with the right person chosen to act. This week, I wanted to focus on care. There has been a lot of discussion lately in Canada about end-of-life care; just a few weeks...
Are you smarter than the average buyer or seller?
RECO, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (the regulator for Ontario’s realtors), has a quiz up on their website to test your knowledge of buying or selling real estate. Many of the questions indicate what the right answer should be, but there are some good points and...