A testator should, for the most part, be able to read and comprehend the terms of his or her Will. Yet even a Will drafted in so called “plain English” may contain a couple of terms or phrases (“issue”, “per stirpes”, “in specie”) with special meaning and/or not used in…
Elaine Blades
Last month I had the pleasure of presenting- along with fellow blogger Dr. Ken Shulman – at a Scotiabank conference. Our audience was comprised, for the most part, of ScotiaMcLeod and Private Investor Counsel financial advisors. Dr. Shulman provided a clinical perspective on capacity/incapacity and I focused on the importance to advisors…
As regular readers of this blog – along with anyone whose profession touches upon any aspect of estate planning and/or administration – know, the discipline is equal parts art and science. Given the credentials of, and work performed by, most contributors to this blog, the technical aspects receive the lion’s share…
Ancestry.com Inc. (“Ancestry”), based in Utah, is the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world. In addition, subsidiaries operate in many European countries and also in Australia and Canada. A great many public records are made available through Ancestry, including: birth, death and marriage; census and voter lists; and military….
I recently had the pleasure of presenting to a group of seniors on the topic of Elder Abuse. The event was organized by the Sunshine Group of Seniors, part of the San Romanoway Revitalization Association. I presented along with Police Constable Amir Butt of 31 Division. P.C. Butt explained that there…
First I read an article in Maclean’s titled Seniors and the generation spending gap (interestingy, the tablet edition has the more provocative title “Old and Loaded”) which discusses how today’s seniors are the “wealthiest generation in history”. Next, I read Audrey’s blog – September is World Alzheimer’s Month – where I learned that…
Most clauses in a Will are (or should be) clear on their face. That being said, certain standard clauses – even when drafted in plain English – may be opaque to the layperson. The “persons born outside marriage” clause is a good example of a provision which begs an explanation. In…
In 21 x 3, I wrote about three, sometimes tricky, trust rules: the 21-year deemed dispositon rule; the rule against accumulations; and, the rule against perpetuities. Following the post, I realized I had not been specific enough when a reader – esteemed charitable foundation advisor and former colleague, David Windeyer –…
I recently had the pleasure of participating in a national speaking tour – Living longer, living better – along with Patty Randall. The tour was hosted by HollisWealth to help celebrate its new identity. Patty has been described as “one of the pre-eminent experts, writers, speakers and media commentators on…
When his kids talk to him about moving to a ‘nice place for people like you’, he’s practically shaking with anger – depending on your age, you may be shaking too.