The federal government just released its Little Black Book of Scams. You can read the whole book here. It's a quick read, but a very interesting one.
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
High and low
A client recently asked me, out of curiosity, how high up and down she would own when her first home closed. Essentially, at common law, you own "up to the heavens and down to the centre of the earth". That being said, in many jurisdictions there are limits that have...
Choose your own executor
I reference Gerry Beyer's Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog a lot because he has so much good stuff there. I've had this one in the back of my mind for several months and finally have the chance to post it. Gerry wrote back in November about a checklist for...
Cooling the market?
The Globe and Mail published this article a few weeks back about proposed new rules from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions regarding refinances and new mortgages. Essentially, the Office is proposing that banks be required to take a much...
Protecting a disabled beneficiary
I see many clients who have children with medical conditions, most often varying degrees of autism, that will make it very difficult for them to manage their finances in the future. For these clients, there is a very specific type of trust that I put into their wills...
Happy Easter!
I'll be taking a break from the blog today to spend the long weekend with my family. If you are lucky enough to have four days off I hope you take full advantage of them. Have a great one!
Email from the grave
In case you needed another reason to ensure your email gets shut down after your death, check out this story about a woman whose email account was hacked two years after her death, following which the hacker started spamming everyone in her address book. Most webmail...
Locking in a decade
Roma Luciw, a columnist for the Globe and Mail, published an article on Monday about the recent surge in popularity of the ten-year mortgage. There are distinct benefits to locking in for an extended period of time, especially now, with historically low rates that...
Time for some economy
The New York Times published an article a little while ago about how the economic downturn has led to a rise in less expensive burial options. According to the Times, cremation has moved from almost nonexistent 50 years ago to the norm, encompassing over 40% of all...
Mortgage wars!
The Globe and Mail published an article last week about the latest round of price cuts on Canadian mortgages. Bank of Montreal has reduced its rates again, offering low five- and ten-year mortgages. In response, the other big banks in Canada have followed suit,...