Here’s something a bit fun: a spender’s guide for six feet under. I think my personal favourite is the high-end cemetery, where you can be buried near Hollywood royalty. Check out the infographic over at MoneySense for tips on how to use up the last of your...
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Estate Planning
The extreme importance of choosing the right executor
A recent case from the Ontario court of appeal indicates why it is so incredibly important to think of all the circumstances when choosing an executor for your estate. Antonio Di Michele was named executor of his mother’s will; the will left her house equally to...
A checklist for the executor of a digital estate
I talk a lot about digital assets; I personally think that most people have not adequately considered what will become of their online selves on their deaths, and very few service providers have even begun to think about their users dying, let alone what will happen...
5 questions to ask your estate planning lawyer
I often write on this blog about the importance of seeing a lawyer to do your will and powers of attorney. Once you have made that decision, here are some important questions to ask your lawyer: What are your legal fees? This will depend in large part on what you are...
Don’t write a will
I spend a lot of time discussing why you should have a will. For your enjoyment: the top 10 reasons why you should not have a will.
Death and organ donation
At what point do you die? Is it when your heart stops beating? When your brain stops functioning? Some other point? In Canada, there is no consensus on that, and this is starting to affect organ donor levels. If you die in one end of the country, you might be declared...
Starting a difficult conversation
Whether you are splitting everything evenly, leaving different amounts to different children, or leaving everything to the dog, it always helps to let your beneficiaries know what you have planned so that they are prepared when the time comes. On the other end of the...
The tragic tale of the richest man in the cemetery
Here’s a little something lighter, via The Joy of Tech.
iWill
In Ontario, a holograph will is a will that is done entirely in your own handwriting, and signed and dated at the end. However, it must be entirely in your own handwriting – one typed word can make the entire will invalid. In Australia, a will on an iPhone has been...
Dying with dignity
Currently, in Quebec, a bill is making its way toward becoming law. Bill 52 would allow both physician-assisted suicide, where a doctor gives a patient a prescription to allow them to commit suicide, and euthanasia, where the doctor or other caregiver actually ends...