On March 29, the Ontario government introduced its budget as Bill 173, the “Better Tomorrow for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2011”. In the middle of Bill 173, at Schedule 14, are several small but very important changes to the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998,...
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Trustee insurance
I am currently the chair of the Simcoe Trusts and Estates Lawyers Association (STELA). As part of my duties, I arrange for speakers of interest to our members to come to our monthly lunch meeting. At today’s meeting, we hosted representatives from ERAssure. ERAssure...
House poor
I have a confession: a guilty pleasure of mine is Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s show, Til Debt Do Us Part, which I watch very regularly (even though I may claim it’s only because it’s on while I’m at the gym). On the show, Gail commandeers a family that is struggling with debt,...
Giving to someone who likes a few too many
I met with a client recently who had a son with a severe addiction to heroin. She wanted to support him, but also wanted to make sure that any inheritance did not go directly to his drug habit. We ended up doing a very specific trust inside the will that allowed him...
Land Titles vs. Land Registry
A few weeks ago, I blogged about adverse possession. Adverse possession is only possible in one type of land ownership: the Land Registry system. In Ontario, parts of the province, particularly in the north, have always been in the Land Titles system, while the...
Impaired annuities
I have been reading a lot recently about annuities, as I have had a lot of clients asking about them. One kind of annuity in particular has caught my attention, and that is the impaired annuity. Impaired annuities are intended for people with terminal conditions....
POLST or POA?
In my estates practice, I frequently draft Powers of Attorney for Personal Care (POAs). These allow my clients to plan for potential incapacity, as they name a person who will manage their care if they cannot direct it themselves and often state some generalized...
The sensitive buyer
In 2006, Glenda Halliwell made an offer on a home. She explained to her realtor, Lazarus, that she was sensitive to mould, and that she wanted to ensure that the house she was buying did not have mould. Her realtor recommended a particular home inspector, Edwards....
A helping hand
I recently had cause to look into retirement facilities for a family member who wanted some assistance. She asked for my help as someone who visits retirement facilities not infrequently and might be able to offer some insight. While I was certainly willing to help...
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...