I was intrigued by this group chat that one of my colleagues sent last Friday: “FYI – Just saw this – Beginning March 3, 2025, you can file your Estate Information Return online using the Ministry of Finance’s online services webpage at https://www.services.fin.gov.on.ca/OTP/Gentax/_/. Effective February 26, 2025, you will no…
Betty Laidlaw
Betty Laidlaw is a law clerk in the Trusts, Wills, Estates and Charities group at Fasken, with over 30 years experience. Betty has extensive experience assisting executors and trustees in managing complex, high-value estates and trusts. Betty specializes in the administration of estates and trusts and also focuses on estate accounting and estate litigation. Betty has received a Certificate in Estate and Trust Administration (CETA) from STEP Canada which denotes excellence in the industry. With this Certificate, Betty has received professional recognition as a specialist in estate and trust management. Betty is an affiliate member of STEP Canada and an associate member of the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario. Email: blaidlaw@fasken.com.
My husband and I recently went on a trip to Peru to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. It was an adventurous 18-day tour, amazing but exhausting. One of my favourite parts was the beginning of our trip when we spent four days at an Amazon jungle lodge. Part of…
One of the main duties of an executor is to distribute the assets of an estate according to the terms of the Will. Typically, it is easy to pay a cash legacy to a beneficiary or to deliver a specific bequest if the beneficiary lives nearby. But what happens if…
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…
We had a Zoom call with our adult children a few weekends ago. We talked about our son’s engagement, as our daughter hadn’t yet heard the details of how he had proposed. We also talked about our daughter’s recent 5K run at the Toronto Zoo and how it compared to…
It is very difficult to plan for every possible scenario when you are drafting your will. Not only is it important to consider who to name as your executor, but you also need to think about what would happen if something happened to your executor. In an earlier blog, I…
Todays blog has been co-written with Murray Braithwaite, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto There has been case law in the past two years where the court has used its discretion to vary the rate of interest on legacies that have not been paid within the “executor’s year” from 5%…
I am an avid reader and always learn something new, even when reading for pleasure. The novel I recently finished, Cold, Cold Bones, by Kathy Reichs was no exception. This is the paragraph that piqued my interest: “A woman in Mount Holly was struck by a falling object while wrapping…
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?…
Estates clerks and lawyers “speak” their own language. We use acronyms or initialisms[1] such as CAET, EIR, RCP, ARI, AET, GRE, POA and COLA. We use abbreviations like Benys and T’ees, and we draw triangles. The idea for this blog was born when reflecting on having to interpret a lawyer’s…