Last year, I wrote about the death of Lisa Marie Presley (“Lisa Marie”) and the resulting court battle between Riley Keough (“Riley”), Lisa Marie’s daughter and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie’s mother[1]. Thankfully, that matter was resolved relatively quickly with Priscilla resigning as a trustee of Lisa Marie’s irrevocable trust, The…
Month: May 2024
Total 19 Posts
Ontario’s Court of Appeal (“COA”) recently released a decision clarifying the legal requirements for finding a purchase money resulting trust. The COA upheld the trial judge’s decision and dismissed the appeal on several grounds. The Appellant sought to appeal the trial judge’s finding that his mother’s estate held a 26%…
Kira Domratchev associate at Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Just because you reside outside of the province, does not mean that you are unfit to act as guardian of an incapable person, particularly with the benefits of modern technology. In a fairly recent decision in Kierans (Re), 2023 BCSC 1841, the…
Managing the care of an older person can be one of the most challenging situations ever undertaken by a family or group of friends. And it is normal for some conflict to arise over the health and personal care needs and the many ways to address those needs. No two…
Happy Friday, everyone. As a reminder, this is Part II of a three-part blog series. Part I can be found at the following link: Equalizing an Estate Where One of More Children are U.S. Persons and Planning Strategies Where There Are U.S. Beneficiaries; Part I – All About Estates…
A question that often arises when discussing powers of attorney is whether to appoint the same person as the decision maker for property and personal care. although the roles are distinct at law, in practical terms there is a great deal of overlap. There are advantages of appointing the same…
A party needs leave to appeal when it is appealing only a costs decision. Leave was granted in the case of Pletch v. Pletch Estate, 2024 ONSC 1411 (CanLII) (Ont. Div. Crt) (“Pletch Estate”), where an estate trustee was not awarded any costs of the application. In Pletch Estate the…
What are the tax implications if you are a beneficiary of a U.S. estate? Rarely do we consider the implications of a Canadian resident inheriting from a U.S. estate. From a Canadian Tax Perspective The general rule is the Canadian beneficiary shall receive their inheritance tax-free since the U.S. estate…
It seems as though the estate court forms and court rules are always changing. It is important to be aware of these changes when filing probate applications in Ontario. Today’s blog will explore the new Form 74G Renunciation and Consent, and provide some practical tips and considerations to help navigate…
A hot topic among charities is anonymous grants from foundations with donor advised funds. Charities receive grants but they often don’t know the identity of the donor or fund that recommended the grant. This prevents the charity from saying thank you and stewarding the donor. Unfortunately, there is deep charity…