All About Estates

Month: June 2011

Total 23 Posts

Tax liability of the deceased

On occasion, the deceased’s estate may not have the cash to cover the tax liability because the assets of the estate are not “liquid” – perhaps valuable real estate. There is a way to defer the payment which requires action on or before the balance due date.

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Finding the Deceased’s Last Will

It is sometimes difficult for family members to find a deceased’s Will or to ascertain whether a particular Will is in fact her “last” Will.
The deceased may have stored his Will at his solicitor’s office, in his safety deposit box or among his possessions, or with some other individual altogether.

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June is Ontario Brain Injury Awareness Month

June is Ontario Brain Injury Awareness Month. Seniors are the 2nd highest risk group for sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI)after male teenagers. What does this mean?

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Barriers to Communication Masked as Symptoms of Incapacity – A Reminder

Last week, in my blog entitled “Red Flags of Incapacity”, I mentioned that certain barriers and physical changes associated with aging can be mistaken for signs of incapacity. As professionals, we need to be able to separate these from actual signs of incapacity, and work to reduce or eliminate their…

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Huguette Clark: prepared to be an heiress ?

Huguette Clark died on May 24, 2011 in New York city at the age of 104. A hospital served as her residence for the last 20 years. Her estate is estimated to be about $500 million.

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When to Serve the Public Guardian and Trustee

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee has multiple functions and involvement in a diverse range of legal proceedings. Most estate practitioners are familiar with the requirements that the Public Guardian and Trustee be served with applications to appoint guardians of property and person and for court approval of settlements involving a person under a disability. However, there are a number of other statutory requirements that necessitate service on the Public Guardian and Trustee that estate practitioners may be less familar with.

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Tax Liability of a Deceased Taxpayer

A recent Canada Revenue Technical Interpretation confirmed that the tax owed by an estate should first be recovered from the named beneficiaries of the deceased registered plans.

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Will Planning – no simple task… Part 5

In the past few blogs I have been focussing on circumstances which may mean your estate and Will planning requires some added attention. In my blog from March 30, 2011 I listed some of those circumstances. The one I’m focussing on today happens to be one that is prevalent in about 50% or more of all family circumstances. It involves the situation of being in a second relationship coupled with the blended family. This isn’t the “Leave it to Beaver” family. Rather, it’s the family in the image of “The Brady Bunch”.

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Take the stairs but don’t fall down, falls prevention is all around.

Falls can occur anywhere and at any time, so the best approach to staying upright is prevention.

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