In Ontario, s. 15 of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”) provides that a Will is revoked by a subsequent marriage of the testator. Practitioners who are meeting with a client in the weeks leading up to his or her marriage will often prepare a Will that contains a…
Emily Hubling
Emily Hubling is an associate in the Trusts, Wills, Estates and Charities group at Fasken. Emily has experience in advising estate trustees in administering a range of complex estate matters, including intestacies, cross-border matters, and contested estates. Working closely with clients’ advisors, Emily prepares Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Trusts to assist clients in fulfilling their unique estate-planning objectives.
Guest written by Giancarlo Mignardi, Student-at-Law at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Last week, I provided an overview of secret and semi-secret trusts, as well as the legal framework that allows for their existence. Today, I will discuss some of the practical uses of such trusts in modern estate-planning, as well…
On Monday, October 21st, Canadians will go to the polls to elect the federal government. While the major parties’ platforms address many issues that are important to Canadians, there are several that will, in particular, impact the personal finances of Canadians and, ultimately, the advice provided by estate planners:[1] Personal…
Written by Fatima Husnain, student-at-law at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Prior to law school, I worked in a hospital inpatient mental health unit. Many of the patients were unable to make their own health care decisions and relied upon other individuals to make decisions on their behalf. If anyone had…
The Aretha Franklin estate saga has taken another interesting turn this week, with a Michigan Probate Court making an order for a handwriting analyst to review one of her holograph Wills. As Lara Besharat explained in her detailed blog post on May 23rd, Aretha died in August of 2018, leaving…
It’s that time of year again for estate planners: the season of calls from clients about to leave for vacation, who realize that they haven’t updated their Will in years. These clients typically want to make sure they update their documents before departure, “just in case anything happens while I’m…
I often meet with clients who wish to have Wills prepared which provide for trusts for their children. After explaining the nature of a testamentary trust to the clients, I typically recommend that they select a set age that the child is to receive the capital (or the remainder thereof)…
On April 11th, 2019, Ontario’s Ford government released its first budget. Of note to estates practitioners, as of January 1, 2020, Estate Administration Tax (commonly referred to as “probate fees”) will not be payable on the first $50,000.00 of an estate’s value. Currently, probate fees are levied at a rate…
Co-written by Jennifer Campbell, estate clerk at Fasken Recently, we have dealt with a number of “international” estates, where (i) probate has been issued in a foreign jurisdiction, (ii) an executor is resident of another country, or (iii) a Canadian deceased held property outside of Canada. These matters have caused…
Guest written by Demetre Vasilounis, Student-at-Law For those with assets in, or some other connection to, the United States, it is important to take note of the fact that the country’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has gained one more tool to enforce tax liabilities on taxpayers. That tool is the…