Sellers are required to guarantee that your appliances are in good working order on the day of closing. What happens if the fridge breaks two days later? Any damage that occurs after the date of closing is the responsibility of the buyer. So, that stove is your repair...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Be exclusive
A survey released last year found that over half of Canadians do not have a signed will; nearly three-quarters do not have a signed power of attorney. Get into the exclusive minority – get your documents drafted and signed this year.
Co-signing
I see a lot of clients who are unable to get financing on their own, and so one or both of their parents will co-sign the loan. Before you decide to go ahead and do this for your child, however, be sure that you are fully prepared for the possible consequences. Even...
Stop being a waiter
I read a book once where the author described a meeting with new clients. The wife said that her husband was a waiter; when the lawyer looked confused, she explained that he was waiting to receive his inheritance from his parents, which he expected to be quite large....
Good fences make good neighbours
Last week, I blogged about whether you have to disclose a crime that once occurred in your home. Today’s question: do you have to disclose the neighbours? Generally speaking, as long as you aren’t asked, you don’t have to disclose anything about the neighbourhood. You...
Preserving your biological legacy
I have written before on whether a child can inherit from a parent who died before the child was conceived. That question is still very much alive in the U.S., and will likely enter Canada in the not-too-distant future. Today I want to talk about something else:...
Ghosts in your home
In 1996, in a home in Bowmanville, Ron England stabbed his mother and stepdaughter to death while suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. In the fall of 2011, Eric and Sade-Lea Tekoniemi purchased the property. Once they discovered the events that had occurred years...
Can you make your heirs believe?
You can leave your children or grandchildren any portion of your estate that you choose, but can you make them follow a certain religion in order to get it? The short answer is, generally, no. While the area is not black and white, in Canada, most courts have ruled...
Signing for yourself
I have blogged before about arranging for a power of attorney in case anything needs to be done on your transaction while you are away. Today, I wanted to talk about running the entire deal through a power of attorney – when you are the purchaser. As a vendor, using a...
What counts as a will?
There have been a number of unusual items counted as wills. Most notably in Canada, the fender of a tractor was once probated. Recently, in Sydney, Australia, a suicide note was considered to be a valid will. The note stated that all of his assets were to be left to...