September 2019

Grammar saves lives

  In this week’s blog I’m going to try to do the impossible; make syntax and legal drafting interesting. Why? One comma can be the difference between life and death. It’s the difference between: Let’s eat Grandma! and Let’s eat, Grandma! Legalese, not so easy In the context of an estate, how do you interpret the following? All of the residue and remainder of my property I give and devise….

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Contested wills, Contracts, Estate Litigation, Uncategorized, Wills

Power of Attorney Disputes: Effective Capacity Assessments

I was honoured to moderate a panel today at the Advocates’ Society’s CPD today “Capable or Not? How to Effectively Litigate and Mediate a Power of Attorney Dispute” (which will be available for purchase online in a couple of months as a webcast archive at TAS’ website). Justices McEwen and Pattillo both spoke and both justices agreed that Justice Penny’s recent decision in Adler v. Gregor, 2019 ONSC 3037 should be….

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Capacity Law, Elder Law, Guardianship, Power of Attorney

The perils of home purchase loans

Executors and personal representatives are tasked with making sure the deceased’s tax obligations are properly dealt with out of the deceased’s estate. An issue that may arise in the course of dealing with the obligations is how to deal with loans and advances from a private company. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently shared its view on the application of a tax rule to a home purchase loan from a private….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Executors, Tax Issues

Celebrating 100 Years Young

Last week I had a pleasure of attending the 100th birthday of one of my (favourite) clients.  She is one of the lucky ones as she still lives in her own home and is able to afford 24/7 care.  She has a wonderful care team who have been consistently providing care to her for over 4 years.  They were initially providing a few hours a day and over the years,….

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Elder Care, Geriatric Care Management

Difference Between a POA and an SDM

Written by Fatima Husnain, student-at-law at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Prior to law school, I worked in a hospital inpatient mental health unit. Many of the patients were unable to make their own health care decisions and relied upon other individuals to make decisions on their behalf. If anyone had asked me at that time what a power of attorney for personal care (“POA”) was, I could not have answered…..

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Uncategorized

Wine and Estate Planning

I recently went looking for information to assist wine and spirit collectors with their estate planning. To my surprise there is little material online.  It’s easy to uncovered truth by drinking wine – “in vivo veritas” – but much harder to find a comprehensive Canadian resource about estate planning for collectors. After meditating on this paucity over a bottle of Okanagan pinot noir that I found in my cellar (well,….

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Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Uncategorized
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