People value objects more when they own or possess them – or at least when they presume ownership. In cognitive psychology this phenomenon is called the “endowment effect”. It’s a concept that was seemingly invented to describe a lot of behaviour related to estates, philanthropy and foundations. It’s time to…
Month: September 2017
Total 17 Posts
In a previous post, I shared with you a number of interesting (often odd) requests and bequests in a last will and testament. Today, I share part two of some of the most interesting last wills and testaments in the last few centuries: Can we communicate with the dead? Harry…
In what might be one of the last pipeline transactions my office will advise on (depending on the outcome of the Government of Canada tax proposals), I ran into an unfortunate situation which served to highlight a fundamental aspect of estate planning: Planning for your beneficiaries. Recently, I reached out…
Labour Day signifies back to school and for many parents, having their children return to school is a great relief. However for many of those ‘sandwiched’ between working full time and providing caregiving assistance to older family members, a return to school may mean less time for themselves. Helping with…
Minister of Finance Bill Morneau (“Morneau”) met with small-business owners in British Columbia earlier this week to hear their complaints about and concerns with the tax proposals which were launched on July 18, 2017. With a consultation process of only 75 days, doctors, farmers, small business advocacy groups and various…
Schizophrenia in adults is the most common illness causing psychosis (a loss of contact with reality, a lack of ability to tell what is real from what is not real in some way). Schizophrenia generally commences in late adolescence or less commonly after age 40 referred to as late onset…
As a result of changes to the law over the last several years, such as increased reporting requirements during the probate process, the loss of graduate rate taxation for most testamentary trusts, and restrictions on the ability of most trusts to use the principal residence exemption, alter ego trusts may…