All About Estates

Month: January 2023

Total 19 Posts

The Caregiver Crisis in Canada and How to Navigate It

The Caregiver Crisis in Canada Have you attended a social event lately with people aged 40 to 60? Often described as the ‘sandwich generation,’ they try to care for older family or friends while working full-time, coping with busy family lives, and raising children. No doubt the conversation will turn…

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January 25 was Bell Let’s Talk Day: Raising $$ and awareness for improving our mental health

Bell Let’s Talk. Not sure what I was doing on January 25, 2023 but I missed this important day so am providing a shout out now to talk about ‘good’ mental health. For many of us, obtaining and maintaining a good mental equilibrium is no easy feat. Let’s face it,…

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What Happens if Something Happens to your Executor?

Choosing who to name as the executor of your estate is an important decision to make when preparing your will (and a topic on which other All About Estates blogs have been written). But what happens if something happens to your executor, and they are unable or unwilling to act?…

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ESTATE PLANNING AND THE GREAT WIDE WORLD

This Blog was written by Emily Racine, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management  When it comes to estate planning, the cases where all property and beneficiaries can be found within a 10km radius are increasingly becoming few and far between. More and more estates cross not only provincial…

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Keeping the Court Happy :)

The recent case of Lepp v. The Municipality of York, 2022 ONSC 6978 (CanLII) (“Lepp”) is now considered to be a form of required reading for litigants and their counsel. While the facts of the case are not particularly unique, the court’s comments on lawyers’ compliance with the Notice to…

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Trust and estates beware of the new Underused Housing Tax

The recently enacted Underused Housing Tax Act[i] (UHTA) applies a one per cent tax on the ownership of vacant or underused housing in Canada. Per the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) published notification[ii] on Jan 17, 2023, “the vast majority of Canadian owners of residential property are excluded owners and, therefore,…

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Looking forward to living a long life…….

It is still Alzheimers Awareness Month and for those of you who have been following my blogs for the last many years, dementia awareness is very important to me. On October 31 2022, my colleague Sasha Adler blogged about the Canadian Dementia Strategy and shared CanAge’s report card. Today I…

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Will The Vacant Home Tax Impact Use of the Principal Residence Exemption; Estate Planning Considerations

  Overview The Ontario government has enabled municipalities to enact a tax on vacant residential units in their regions (Granted under Part IX.1 of the Municipal Act).[1] Each municipality has to pass a By-Law stating the tax rate and conditions of vacancy that, if met, make a property subject to…

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Chinese New Year – A time to celebrate, plan and eat!

This blog was written by Jean Yong, Associate Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management Chinese culture boasts a long and rich history. It is one of the world’s oldest cultures dating back thousands of years and includes a set of social norms and beliefs shared to a varying…

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The Judicial Preference for Non-Intervention in Guardianship Disputes

Guardianship disputes can be stressful and costly. Though each party wishes to do what is in the best interests of their incapable loved one, they struggle to reach an agreement about how to manage the incapable person’s personal care or property. These conflicts often make their way to the courts for resolution. But should they?

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