September 2021

When Is A Signature Not A Signature?

Under the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA), a will or codicil must be “signed” to be valid. The case of BMO Trust Company v. Cosgrove, 2021 ONSC 5681 considered what handwritten form of a person’s name constituted a signature. Nola Louise Bogie hired a lawyer to prepare her will. However, by 2017, Ms. Bogie’s lawyer had been suspended by the Law Society of Upper Canada (as it was then known)…..

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Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Wills

Balancing Work and Care

As school resumes and as businesses  are starting to offer the option of going into an office, I thought I would address another important topic, which is balancing work and caregiving. I always review my previous blogs and my very first blog with allaboutestates was eleven years ago on this very topic. This is my 340th blog and this topic continues to be even more relevant today than it was….

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Elder Care

Assessing Drake’s Estate Planning Needs

As a Toronto native, I couldn’t help but listen to rapper Drake’s highly-anticipated new album Certified Lover Boy, which he released just a few weeks ago. In fact, it has been enjoying record-breaking streaming numbers from music fans around the world, amassing a staggering 153 million global Spotify streams in its first 24 hours of release. Drake and his music are clearly influential on a global level. Drake’s songs have….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, In the News, International, Probate Tax, Property, Real Estate, Succession Planning, Tax Issues, Wills

Vacation Property – Keeping it in the family

This Blog was written by Natalie Melanson, Estate and Trust Advisor at MD Private Trust Company which is part of Scotia Wealth Management As we are now nearing the end of September, we know or hear of many people who are in the middle of closing up their vacation homes for the season before the cold temperatures and snow arrives. Now that summer is over, this new season tends to make people….

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Cottage, Estate Planning

Restricted Charitable Bequests

One the biggest trends in philanthropy of the last thirty-years is the rise of donor-directed or restricted giving.  Donors want more control, which typically results in more restrictions being placed on gifts. But there are risks of placing restrictions on a charitable gift by will. Failure and Cy Pres Simply, a restricted gift will fail if the charity is unable to honour the restriction. In Canada, the recourse is to….

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Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

INSURANCE TRACKING SHARES

If a taxpayer owns shares of a corporation and passes away, he or she is deemed to have disposed of their shareholding at fair market value (“FMV”) unless a tax-free rollover is applied (e.g., rollover to a surviving spouse). The disposition of shares may cause a tax liability. In the circumstance where this shareholding was in the form of a significant shareholding in a privately held corporation, there may be….

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Business Succession Planning, Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Insurance, Investments, Property, Small Business, Succession Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized
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