All About Estates

Month: July 2019

Total 22 Posts

The Space Between First and Second Families

Neil Armstrong’s first and second family have competing visions for his legacy and administration of his estate.

Continue Reading

What an Attorney for Personal Care Can Do

In Ontario, a power of attorney for personal care is defined in the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA) and allows the appointed attorney to act as the substitute decision maker (SDM) for an incapable person. The appointed attorney is given the authority to make decisions such as: medical treatments, admission to…

Continue Reading

Thou Shall or Thou Mayest- You Choose

Honour thy mother and thy father- a familiar refrain that we learnt as part of the Ten Commandments.  Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, this really was not something we had a choice in- it was expected. Many boomer caregivers today feel this continued expectation when it comes to…

Continue Reading

I’m Only 20, Why do I need a Will

Today’s blog is being brought to you by guest blogger, Jennifer Campbell, a law clerk in the Private Client Services group of Fasken LLP. Disney child star Cameron Boyce, who is best known for his role in movies such as “Grown Ups” and “Grown Ups 2” as well as his…

Continue Reading

Donor Recognition: Servants, Saints and Super Heroes

In 15th and 16th century Europe donor recognition was negotiable. The biggest donors gave to the church, but the best way to be recognized in a durable way was to underwrite religious art. Albrecht Dürer’s circa 1500 triptych, the Paumgartner Altarpiece, is one of the most arresting examples of the…

Continue Reading

Tenancy and Equitable Ownership – You Can Have it All!

Can you be a tenant and an equitable owner of a property? Absolutely! Read how you can have it all in Warraich v Choudhry et al, 2019 ONSC 2656. In March 2012, Choudhry purchased a property for $519,000.00. In April 2012, Warraich, one of Choudhry’s friends, moved into the property…

Continue Reading

Inherited assets and TOSI

While it has been over 18 months since its implementation, we are still learning more about the application of the tax on split income (TOSI) rules.  The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provided guidance where shares of a private company are passed on to the children of the deceased. The CRA…

Continue Reading

Hot Stuff!

It is hot out there.  We have had heat advisories  and I hope we have been paying attention.  I called my elderly client  to see how she was doing and she  told me she was not feeling well. I spoke with her caregiver and  asked if her AC was working. …

Continue Reading

Neuroimaging and Capacity

Neuroimaging and Dementia
Technology has increasingly allowed us to peek into the brain, and medical professionals, scientists, lawyers, and laypeople increasingly form opinions of what these images tell us. When it comes to understanding the human mind, humans are more likely to trust brain imaging data as more authoritative and credible than behavioural data.

Continue Reading

Revival Trusts: Dead on Arrival?

This blog was written by Lara Besharat Benjamin Franklin famously wrote that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” A hundred and seventy-eight years later, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation undertook to disprove this generally accepted inevitability. In 1967, James Bedford became the first person to be…

Continue Reading