You may not want to be. A recent survey found that 72% of Americans have either no will or an out-of-date will (done before a major life event such as having a child, for example). I imagine the same statistics hold true for Canadians. In this case, you most...
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Estate Planning
Inheriting a house
Sometimes, instead of a share of an estate, a person could be left a specific asset; sometimes, this is a house or cottage. If you do inherit, keep in mind that the executors will likely have to wait to transfer it to you until they have gone through the probate...
Where is your will?
A short post this week: where do you keep your will? It’s important to have one; it’s useless if no one knows where it is. Make sure that your executor or someone else you trust knows where you have kept it for when the time comes. Save
Not leaving an equal split? Talk about it now
We humans like to think we like surprises – after all, who doesn’t love a surprise birthday party, or an unexpected gift delivered to the office? Where we most definitely don’t like surprises, though, are in estates. You are far more likely to leave bad feelings about...
Don’t forget about the personal items
In my experience, personal items cause vastly more problems in estate administration than their value would suggest. I’ve had clients fight over dining room sets that could have been replaced for under $1,000.00; the legal costs can vastly outstrip the cost of the...
Capital gains or probate tax?
I have been asked many times about transferring a property into joint names with a child in order to avoid probate tax. There are a few things to consider here: You may not avoid probate tax anyway. The government takes the position that, if an asset is an estate...
Choose the right executor
The person you choose as executor of your estate can either make it go smoothly or make it incredibly difficult, and expensive. Choosing a person who is in serious debt, or has addictions, or doesn’t get along with any of the other beneficiaries, or wants to please...
Predatory marriages
In our aging society, we have discovered a new low: people who marry elderly people in order to get at their inheritances. They prey on those who have assets and are widowed, as they are the most vulnerable, being used to being married. Because of Ontario’s...
Choosing the right guardian
I have many clients with small children, and almost universally, the reason they say for why they took so long getting their wills done is that they simply couldn’t decide on a guardian. If you have children under 18 when you die, ultimately, it is up to the courts as...
Prince, and the lack of a will
By now, everyone knows that pop and rock superstar Prince died on April 21. He died suddenly, and it has now been confirmed that he died without a will. Prince had been married, but was single at the time of his death. His only child died at one week old, and his...