All About Estates

Month: March 2023

Total 20 Posts

Wedding Season is Here: The Impact of Marriage on Estate Planning

As we turn the corner from winter to spring, we also enter into another important time of year: wedding season. With the start of this season, estate planners should remind themselves, and their clients, of a few of the critical intersections between family law and estate law that specifically impact…

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ChatGPT, draft my will

I saw a meme the other day that said “No one hates lawyers more than other lawyers”. After reading this post, I think lawyer hate is about to get redirected. The surprising part of law school is that it doesn’t actually teach you how to draft legal documents. A prompt…

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General Revocation Clause in Will was Insufficient to Revoke Beneficiary Designations

In Alger v. Crumb, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a general revocation clause in a will did not revoke the testator’s TFSA and RRIF beneficiary designations. The Court concluded that under s. 51 and s. 52 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”), the beneficiary designations have to be expressly…

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Story of My Family

Story of My Family is a Japanese drama that I have started watching on Netflix and  so far, in episode one it has all the intrigue that we see in the world of estates, including challenging family dynamics, aging, incapacity and undue influence. We are introduced to an aging pro…

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Does a Grantor have the Capacity to plan their Incapacity?

This blog has been written by Mohena Singh, Associate at Fasken LLP As estate planners, one of the most important aspects of our job is to discuss incapacity planning with our clients. Mental incapacity has become a social, health and legal challenge that affects a surprising number of Canada’s senior…

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ChatGPT, do my work for me

What’s a professional way to say “You sound crazy and this is a horrible idea”? This is a question that was normally reserved for work BFFs. But artificial intelligence has come a long way and now gives out HR approved wisdom like: “While I appreciate your creativity and passion for…

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Representation of Incapable Individuals

In disputes relating to the guardianship of an incapable person, the subject of their representation often arises. The appointment of counsel pursuant to section 3 of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30 (“section 3 counsel”) is often treated as akin to or even the same as the…

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Private foundations & private company shares

Philanthropic individuals that own their wealth in a private company may want to set-up a charitable legacy by donating some of their shares or debt to a private foundation. Although this sounds like a great idea, caution needs to be exercised. Donations of private company shares or debt to a…

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Housing Options for Seniors in Canada

What Are the Housing Options for Seniors? As each decade passes, one of our challenging and essential questions is – what are the housing options for seniors? Since the COVID pandemic, polling has shown that older Canadians have overwhelmingly indicated they wish to stay in their homes until the end…

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Considerations when Administering a Canadian Estate with US Situs Assets

Today’s blog is written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. As today’s world continues to grow increasingly interconnected, more estate professionals find themselves dealing with a web of cross-border assets and jurisdictional issues.  This post considers certain issues that you might face when administering a Canadian estate…

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