Your last Will and Testament represents your final opportunity to organize and control the disposition of your estate. Failure to complete your last Will means that a statutory scheme will determine the disposition of your estate. The statutory scheme is far from adequate in addressing all the issues that are typically dealt with in [...]
Did you know that statistics show that less than 50% of all Canadians have a Last Will and Testament? This is a surprising statistic considering that, without a Will, the distribution of the assets owned by you on your death will be determined by provincial legislation. For instance, if your spouse and children have [...]
The Personal Information and Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada) (“PIPEDA”) is now here to govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by organizations in the course of a commercial activity. Personal information is defined as including information about an identifiable individual. However, personal information does not include the information that would [...]
Have you ever wondered what would happen if, upon your death, your Will could not be located? Loss or destruction of a Will is an occurrence that hopefully would not befall you or your friends, because a presumption that the Will was revoked can arise. Although uncommon, however, some Wills are either lost or [...]
Estate planners have been aggressively utilizing joint ownership as a method for minimizing probate fees for some time. Recently, however, this practice has increased. What you may be surprised to know is that, in some cases, there are negative and unintended implications. An all too common scenario is where mama or papa have died [...]
With the Canadian population reaching ages in excess of their predecessors, we are seeing an increase in the numbers of powers of attorney as well as the activation of such powers of attorney. There are typically two forms of powers of attorney: (1) power of attorney for management of property, which gives the grantee [...]
Did you know that under the Family Law Act a surviving spouse has the ability to cause a “rewrite” of the Will of the deceased? This may come as a surprise to you. You must be wondering how is it that a surviving spouse can cause an alteration of the Will of his or [...]
This appears to be an innocuous question. However, it may be of some surprise to you to know that in some instances a second or multiple Wills are in fact advisable. We are not referring to redoing your first Will or doing a codicil to make a change or changes to your first Will. [...]
As many of you know, there is an ever-increasing tendency for individuals to co-habit as partners or common law spouses without entering into a marriage. Such arrangements may be opposite or same sex relationships. Some of the relationships are short term and/or may not be regarded as common law relationships. Partners and spouses who [...]
As you all know, it is a hot market on the home front. If you are interested in buying a home, here are some of the issues you should be putting on your checklist. 1. You need to decide what kind of a home you wish to purchase. Where would it be, what would [...]
