A lot of people tell me that they have no major assets, and no dependants, so they don't need to have a will drafted. While I'm not entirely sure I agree with that, even if you don't need a will, it doesn't mean you don't need to do estate planning. If you were...
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Estate Planning
Live-tweeting a death
Those of you reading this on Twitter will know that it is quite common to live-tweet big events. I've done it myself at several conferences; it gives those not in attendance (or those of us in different streams) the chance to "sit in" on the presenters. Scott Simon...
A code of conduct for will drafters
I spent four wonderful years at Queen's University, where I majored in women's studies and minored in English literature. After a year off teaching English in South Korea, I then went to law school at the University of Ottawa where I completed my law degree, articled...
To plan, or not to plan. That is the question.
I am a big fan of Seth Godin. I read his blog daily, and I've read several of his books (and have the others on my to-read list). He is a very powerful writer, not least because what he writes is so simple. A few weeks ago, he wrote this post about health care...
Yours, mine and ours
I have clients who are a classic blended family. She had a child young and separated from the father when her daughter was three; he divorced his wife when his daughter was seven; and when they married, they had a child together. They consider all three children to be...
Have a coffee with your discussion of dying
Have you ever heard of a death café? Neither had I, until I read this article at the Globe and Mail last week. Basically, they are informal gatherings – sometimes at coffee shops, sometimes in people’s homes – where a small group can get together, enjoy tea and...
Some thoughts for the not-quite-married
In Canada, for the most part, there is little day-to-day difference between couples who are legally married and couples who are common law. You can get benefits at work, get a family membership at the gym, and generally live as if you are married. One significant...
Celebrity death match, round two
I have posted often before on the fact that celebrities tend to make the same mistakes as the rest of us, just compounded by more money and more dependants (you can read posts here, here and here, for example). Sheyna Steiner has posted a new list of celebrity follies...
Your family may have changed. Has your will?
Last week, I wrote about updating your will for your own benefit. Today, I want to talk about updating your will for the benefit of others. Last month, Elizabeth O’Brien wrote this article on MarketWatch. She mentions a vast number of reasons why it can be disastrous...
Update your will!
I love reading Consumer Reports. It's a great magazine with a lot of very useful tips - both in general, and when you're looking to make a major purchase.I was catching up on my reading recently, and came across this article on money mistakes to avoid and the first...