In Ontario, the Family Law Act rules state exactly when a home becomes a matrimonial home: the day you get married, if you are living there. In order to be a matrimonial home, it must be your ordinary residence. Your house could be a matrimonial home; so can your ski...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Your family may have changed. Has your will?
Last week, I wrote about updating your will for your own benefit. Today, I want to talk about updating your will for the benefit of others. Last month, Elizabeth O’Brien wrote this article on MarketWatch. She mentions a vast number of reasons why it can be disastrous...
Pay your taxes
Most people aren't aware of this, but if you don't pay your municipal property taxes, the city or town has the right to sell your house out from under you. Keep in mind that just because they can, doesn't mean they necessarily will. First, the municipality cannot...
Update your will!
I love reading Consumer Reports. It's a great magazine with a lot of very useful tips - both in general, and when you're looking to make a major purchase.I was catching up on my reading recently, and came across this article on money mistakes to avoid and the first...
What happens if you don’t close?
I have had this situation a few times: a client calls not too long before closing, and they’ve gotten cold feet. What happens if you don’t want to close the deal? Generally, if you refuse to close, you must have a legitimate reason. As a buyer, if something is...
Giving and taking back
I came across this story the other day about a gift left to charity that ended up in the wrong place. Basically, the donation was accidentally sent to the wrong animal shelter; both had the same name, but were in identically named cities in different states. In this...
Cutting ties
What happens when you own a property jointly with someone, and don’t want to share any more? Your kindergarten teacher probably wouldn’t be happy, but technically, you can sever a joint tenancy without any notice to the other parties. Basically, you do a transfer from...
Changing it up
Many people know that, on marriage, your will is automatically revoked. There is a good public policy reason for this: your spouse should not be disinherited simply because you forgot to update your will. (I touched on the issue of predatory marriages a while back.)...
Specific performance
You put in an offer and it was accepted, but some time before the closing date, the seller decided not to complete the deal. Can you sue to make them sell you the property? In Ontario, there is a concept called “specific performance” which, essentially, means that you...
Two thumbs up for doing your estate plan right
Roger Ebert, the film critic famous for popularizing the "two thumbs up" concept for movies, passed away last month after a long battle with cancer. Ebert's estate gives us an important lesson: take warnings from people close to you very much to heart. Ebert's friend...