All About Estates

Month: April 2011

Total 21 Posts

The Royal Wedding & Philanthropy

The spectacle of Will & Kate’s wedding today prompts thoughts about philanthropy and matrimony.

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Common Interest Privilege

Can parties who are on the same side protect privileged communications which are shared among their respective lawyers?

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TAX REPORTING OBLIGATIONS FOR TRUSTEE AND EXECUTOR FEES – FOLLOW UP

Awhile ago , I wrote that payments made to trustees and executors usually trigger some form of tax reporting and often, an obligation on the payer to withhold and remit amounts on account of tax. Thanks to some welcome and practical feedback from a concerned blogger, I would like to add a few comments.

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The Financial Cost of Caregiving

As the issue of caregiving is now getting election coverage, the costs of caregiving need to be better understood. These include tangible costs such as financial expenses, loss of income, as well as other costs, such as emotional challenges and loss of opportunity identified by family members pressed into service to care for an elderly family member.
For those families who decide to purchase care, this article will review the financial cost of hiring a caregiver.

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Discovery of an attorney for property’s action in a will contest case

Are your actions as attorney for property relevant and therefore discoverable in a will challenge case?

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Spousal Trusts work for the short or long term

When Gertrude Janeway died in 2003, she was still getting a monthly cheque for $70 from the Veterans Administration for a military pension earned by her late husband, John, on the union side of the American civil war that ended in 1865.

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The Costs of Upholding A Testator’s Intention

When opposing a dependant support claim on the grounds that you are upholding the intentions of a testator, as this recent B.C. case indicates, think carefully about the possible cost consequences of so doing before proceeding to trial.

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Charitable donations made through a will

In many cases, a deceased person will include charitable bequests in their will. The executor(s) of the estate may not, however, be in a position to honour the bequest in a timely fashion due to the lack of available estate funds on hand. In not all cases will this action (or inaction) frustrate the completion of the final personal tax return.

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Will Planning – No Simple Task… Part 2

As I said in my last blog, certain circumstances in either your background or asset base may mean your estate and Will planning requires some added attention. One of those circumstances is ownership of assets in a foreign jurisdiction.

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