Save the Cheerleader

Scotiatrust

This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust    The most famous sentence of Hayden Panettiere’s career was an instruction to protect a girl. Save the cheerleader, save the world. She was the cheerleader, Claire Bennet, and what protecting her actually looked like over four seasons of Heroes was not the heroics you would expect. It was a middle-aged man in horn-rimmed glasses, not her biological father,….

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Estate Planning, Guardianship

Does Donor Recognition Create Obligations?

Is a donor obliged to provide ongoing support to a charity after a building or facility is named in their honour?  The legal answer is “no”.  Naming, however, may stir up complex feelings of ownership and hope, which often lead to misunderstandings — even after the donor is dead. There are legal, practical, and human issues to consider. Legal Limitations Donations must be freely given and are not contractually binding,….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Filling in the Gaps: Extrinsic Evidence and s. 21.1 of the SLRA

On June 15, 2024, Robert Chang (“Robert”) received an unexpected text from his brother, Luen-Wen Chang (the “Luen-Wen”). Luen-Wen advised Robert that he was ill and asked Robert to visit him as soon as possible. Luen-Wen also said he wanted to “give [his] will” to Robert. On June 19, 2024, Robert (who lived in Dallas, Texas) visited an Etobicoke Hospital and learned that Luen-Wen was terminally ill. During this visit,….

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Wills

Five Popular Posts This Summer

This is a selection of popular posts from All About Estates this summer. Estate Donation Regime at 10 Years Malcolm Burrows, Scotia Wealth Trust | June 18, 2026 Ten years ago, in 2016, the introduction of the Graduated Rate Estate (GRE) regime turned Canadian estate planning upside down.  The sidebar to the GRE rules were rules for “estate donations”. Choosing the Right Estate Trustee: When Poor Administration Comes at a….

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Elder Management, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation

Executor’s Personal Liability for an Estate’s Taxes

Scotiatrust

True personal anecdote A few years ago, I agreed to act as Estate Trustee During Litigation. I was appointed on a Wednesday. Late that Friday afternoon (just before a long weekend), I received a call from a Canada Revenue Agency collection officer. She advised me that the estate owed more than $1 million in taxes and warned that distributing estate assets before resolving the tax debt could expose me to….

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Estate Administration, Executors, Liability, Tax Issues

When a power of attorney is not enough: planning for the realities of ageing and capacity

What does it take for a power of attorney to work when a family actually needs it? Early listeners to SMART AGEING, SMART ESTATES told us they valued the combination of ageing and estate expertise, the client-friendly discussion, and the stories and examples that brought the issues to life. That combination of a smart ageing and estates approach is important because powers of attorney raise both legal and practical questions…..

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Estate Planning, Podcast, Smart Ageing
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