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...
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Substitute Decisions
The importance of a properly drafted power of attorney
Even though the vast majority of Canadians do not actually have a will, most at least recognize the importance of them. The same is not true for powers of attorney, and in particular, the Power of Attorney for Personal Care. In Ontario, as in many other places, it can...
The legacy of Ulysses
When I was in high school, I took several years of Latin. As part of the course, we spent a fair bit of time learning about Greek and Roman mythology, which always fascinated me. Ulysses, or Odysseus in the Greek version, was a noble in ancient Greece. He fought with...
When does life support stop supporting life?
There has been a lot of discussion in the news in recent months over what counts as “life,” between the right-to-die cases moving toward the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as the Rasouli cases and the right to keep a patient on life support when the family’s wishes...
Back to school
September marks the return to school of many students, including university- and college-age students. While many of these young people have little in the way of assets, and thus do not have a great need for wills or other estate planning documents, they do need...
No assets? At least consider a power of attorney
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...
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...
How far would you go for a DNR?
I came across this article the other day, about a woman in Norfolk, England who had "Do Not Resuscitate" tattooed on her chest so that doctors would make no mistake about her intentions should she be found unconscious. And, just in case she is found face down, she...
A made-for-TV movie – except it’s real
I came across this story today, which seems to combine the worst elements of elder abuse and fraud. In a nutshell: Frank Blumeyer, a wealthy resident of Naples, Florida, befriended his neighbours, Allen and Marcia Brufsky. Within a year, he had loaned them significant...
Selling your house while you are on vacation
When I bought my home three years ago, I ran into a small snag: the vendors were insistent on closing on a date when I was not going to be in the country, as I had booked a (very) long-planned visit to old friends overseas. Not wanting to lose the house over this...