Here's a great idea: teach children and teens how to give intelligently, and they will continue to be philanthropic throughout their lives. Javier Espinoza wrote this article in the Wall Street Journal last year about programs in the UK and US that are doing just...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Bridging the gap
I have a lot of clients who are moving up and selling the starter home they own in order to buy a larger home. Most of the time, they have these transactions occur on the same day: sell in the morning, buy in the afternoon, spend the weekend moving in. But what...
Survey says…
Saman Jaffery at Hull & Hull wrote an interesting post a few weeks back about the lack of estate planning among boomers. She quotes a survey from BMO which was released recently that highlights the major issue with boomer estate plans: 90% of boomers have wills,...
This tech startup is deadly
Gerry Beyer at the Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog posted last week about a very intriguing new tech startup: I-Postmortem. I-Postmortem runs two services. The first, I-Tomb, costs $50 annually, and lets you create a virtual cemetery. You can upload photos,...
Your home is your castle
I check in regularly at OntarioHomeOwner.com for news about anything and everything related to real estate. The other day, I saw a post stating that it is now legal to use violence when protecting your home. Some background: In 2006, Cedric Forde, a career criminal,...
Pickup lines for estates lawyers
I came across this post by the Zucker Law Firm in Virginia on the best estate planning pickup lines. My runner up? "I don’t think you can be a witness, because you have undue influence over me." My absolute favourite? "Hey, I draft wills! What were your other two...
Building for charity
I came across this post the other day at TheRedPin, a website devoted to people looking to buy condos in the GTA. Jessica Speziale, of Options for Homes, wrote the post about what Options does to help people get into the housing market. Basically, Options has been...
How far would you go for a DNR?
I came across this article the other day, about a woman in Norfolk, England who had "Do Not Resuscitate" tattooed on her chest so that doctors would make no mistake about her intentions should she be found unconscious. And, just in case she is found face down, she...
How much will that house cost?
I read Money Sense Magazine occasionally. A while ago, I came across a post from Gail Vax-Oxlade, who hosts a show I (secretly) love to watch called Til Debt Do Us Part. She wrote this article to help home buyers figure out what they actually need to save in order to...
A made-for-TV movie – except it’s real
I came across this story today, which seems to combine the worst elements of elder abuse and fraud. In a nutshell: Frank Blumeyer, a wealthy resident of Naples, Florida, befriended his neighbours, Allen and Marcia Brufsky. Within a year, he had loaned them significant...