All About Estates

Susan J. Hyatt

Total 15 Posts Website
Susan J Hyatt is the Chair & CEO of Silver Sherpa Inc. A leader and author in the ‘smart aging’ movement, she is a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders and the International Federation on Ageing. She holds a post-graduate certification in Negotiations from Harvard Law School/MIT and an MBA from Griffith University in Australia. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy specializing in critical care/trauma from the University of Toronto.

Navigating Elder Management Part 2: Dispute Prevention

This article is a companion to my previous blog post, Navigating Elder Management: Common Sibling and Stepsibling Disputes. Exploring the source of common disputes in elder management is important. Even more important is to look at strategies that may prevent them in the first place. A decade ago, the popular…

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Navigating Elder Management: Common Sibling and Stepsibling Disputes

Navigating the elder management landscape can be overwhelming and complicated – especially when siblings and stepsiblings do not get along. While elderly family members may have an estate plan in place, the execution of the plan can be challenging, especially when it comes to care. Eventually, elderly family members may…

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Effective Communication Is the Bedrock For Optimal Eldercare

Effective communication is the bedrock for functional eldercare teams. In many disputes related to care of an elderly or disabled person, poor communication is at the core of a dysfunctional team that cannot work together to provide optimal care for the client. Caregiving is a team sport complicated by the…

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Mobility is a Key Lifestyle Planning Factor

Mobility and being able to move independently is a crucial lifestyle planning factor people often overlook. As families are out enjoying the summer weather and travelling again, we wish more people understood that being able-bodied[1] and independently mobile is a temporary state. Life happens – a car accident or healthcare…

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Leveraging the Longevity Dividend – in an Ageing Canada

We are in the midst of a longevity revolution where people live longer and healthier lives. Economists in the US and UK have written about the longevity dividend or the benefits we could realize with this significant societal shift. Canadian institutions such as governments, corporations, and academics are starting to…

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The Loneliness & Social Isolation Crisis – Critical Planning Considerations

The US Surgeon General made public health headlines in May, declaring that loneliness and social isolation carry the same critical health risks as smoking, obesity, and the opioid crisis. Isolation and loneliness are linked to declining mental health, such as higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Physical health…

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Loneliness And Social Isolation Declared a Public Health Crisis

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy made headlines last week by declaring an “epidemic of loneliness.” He warned that loneliness is associated with “a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.” This statement is the first time a Surgeon General has used their national advocacy platform…

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Jam Needs a Plan: Estate Planning for Pets

Estate planning for pets has made for some very wealthy animals. Remember the US hotel heiress Leona Hemsley? Known as the Queen of Mean, she left $12 million out of her estimated $5 billion estate to her Maltese lap dog, Trouble. The dog’s inheritance was reduced to $2 million, but…

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An Elder Care Planning Framework for Decision Making, Part 2

This blog post on the Elder Care Planning Framework for Decision Making, Part 2, is based on a panel presentation at Elder Law Day in Toronto in March 2023. Participants expressed an interest in using the elder care planning framework to provide context for decision-making and planning. Part 1 proposed…

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Proposing an Elder Care Planning Framework for Decision Making

The Elder Care Planning Framework In March 2023, I was a panellist at the Ontario Bar Association’s Elder Law Day, where Dr. Richard Shulman and I spoke about decision-making capacity. In preparing our presentation, we developed this tool to aid in planning decision-making for elder care management and related financial,…

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