I read this article recently and found myself both fascinated and horrified. Basically, AIG is selling securities backed by life insurance policies on elderly people. The concept isn’t new – I first heard about this almost 20 years ago when several investment...
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Estate Planning
Snakes on an intestacy
Garry Wise over at the Wise Law Blog posted last week about a very strange estate: that of an informal zookeeper, Karel Fortyn, who ran a reptile zoo out of his home in Welland, ON. When he died suddenly on May 2, he left behind a former common law spouse, a fiancee,...
Osama bin Laden’s final directive
The Guardian newspaper published an article last week detailing the purported last will of Osama bin Laden, killed by US forces the day before. According to the document, he instructed his wives not to remarry and, perhaps more surprisingly, instructed his children...
Taxing your death
In Canada, tax returns were due yesterday (the deadline was extended to May 2 as April 30 fell on a Saturday this year). People who have died also have to file their returns. If the individual died before November 1, the tax return will be due on April 30; if the...
Changes to the probate rules
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...