I’ve written before about the importance of choosing the right attorney for both property and care, and taking the time to write those choices down. Here is a cautionary tale about what can happen if you pick the wrong one. Jack Johnson is a star player with the...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Spooky stuff
Here’s a question I get asked all the time: do you have to disclose if you think there is a ghost in your house? The short answer is no. While there are currently some cases working their way through the courts about disclosure of past murders, stigmas do not have to...
Untying the knot
This week ends my trilogy on marriage and divorce with the question: what happens to your estate plan when you divorce? Most people would be quite surprised to learn that divorce in Ontario does not automatically revoke a will. Instead, what happens depends on how far...
Pushing your boundaries
If you live in an urban subdivision built in the past ten or 15 years, chances are the borders of your property are exactly where they appear to be – right down the fence line and to the edge of the street. There is an extremely low likelihood that part of your deck...
Not tying the knot
Last week, I talked about marriage, and how it revokes a will. This week, I’m going to talk about common law relationships. In Canada, generally speaking, there is no difference societally between a couple who is married and one who is living together but not married....
Another use of Powers of Attorney
I’ve written before about using powers of attorney to sign documents if you will be away for a closing. Here’s another good use: dealing with your condo while you are away. Often people choose condo living because of a high-travel lifestyle. Condos can be complicated,...
Tying the knot
I got married at the end of October last year. Among other things, signing that piece of paper meant that my husband and I no longer had wills; the ones we had signed about a year before that were automatically revoked the moment we were married. This is a point that...
Are you ready?
I’m stealing today’s post from Ask Ross, a blog about all things mortgages. Here are his top 5 signs that you are ready to buy a house: You have a reliable source of income. Home ownership requires paying regular bills, and being prepared for unexpected expenses. If...
A few points about life insurance
Life insurance is a great estate planning tool. It gives your beneficiaries money, generally tax-free, and often very quickly after death. If the beneficiary is listed properly, it will almost always bypass the estate entirely, which keeps it safe from creditors and...
Is a house a good investment?
Conventional wisdom is that it is always better to buy than to rent, and that a house is always a good investment. That may not be quite true. There are lots of great reasons to buy, but probably almost as many not to. And buying as an investment is another ballgame...