Many people feel that estate planning is only for the very rich, or those with highly complex family situations. This is simply not the case. Most of us, if we knew what will happen without a will, would go running to the nearest lawyer to have a proper will drawn up....
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cesia@wall-arm.ca
Why you shouldn’t add your kids to the title of your house
One of the most common questions I get asked is how difficult it is to add an adult child to the title of your house. The correct question, though, isn’t whether it’s easy to add them on title. The correct question is whether it’s the right thing to do. And the answer...
Forget the money. Get a will for your kids.
One of the most tragic stories I ever heard was of a couple who were in a fatal car accident on the way home from the hospital with their newborn daughter. The baby survived without a scratch; both parents died. What made it even more tragic was that the parents did...
Watch your taps
A few years ago, my husband and I went to visit his family at Christmas. What we didn’t realize was that, just before we left, a toilet that got flushed did not stop running. We returned four days later to find it running, immediately turned it off, and gritted our...
Do you have a soon-to-be high school grad at home? Time for powers of attorney!
It’s an exciting time of year: high school graduation is just around the corner. Your teenager is about to spread their wings and (hopefully) become an independent adult, whether heading off to college or university or going into the workforce. One extra thing that...
Refinancing is math
Pure and simple. How much will you save on interest, vs. how much will you pay in penalties? Reading the fine print before you sign your mortgage in the first place will help immensely, because then you will know what sort of penalty to expect. But the bottom line is...
Separated or divorced? You NEED to update your will
We had another client recently who received a windfall; her former husband hadn’t updated his will, and they were separated without a separation agreement and not yet divorced, so she inherited everything on his sudden death. I can just about guarantee you that that...
Common buyer mistakes
Here are some things that often cause trouble for buyers: Going shopping before meeting with a mortgage broker or agent. You want to know how much you actually have to spend, so that you don’t look at places outside your actual budget. Skipping the financing condition...
Becoming a first-timer again
For some things, you only get one chance: first time buyer credits for land transfer tax rebates or for income tax claims, for example. However, there is one area where you can have another chance, and that is the RRSP Home Buyer Plan. You can borrow from your RRSP to...
Don’t make these 5 estate planning mistakes
There are a lot of things that can go wrong in an estate plan, particularly if you try to DIY. Here are some of the big ones: Not planning for incapacity. All of us will die, so having a will is important. However, many of us will also become incapacitated at some...