All About Estates

Category: Compensation

Total 16 Posts

You Wear the Executor Hat First

It’s not easy being an Estate Trustee and a beneficiary. However, an Estate Trustee must be ever mindful that she wears the executor “hat” first. In other words, the duties an Estate Trustee owes to the beneficiaries must come before the Estate Trustee’s own interests. Otherwise an Estate Trustee will…

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Estate Trustee Compensation – Discretionary Factors

Estate trustees are entitled to seek compensation for their work. Unless an exception applies, the court will exercise its discretion to determine the amount.

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Inheritance and Tax

There is renewed discussion on whether Canada will become another jurisdiction where specific gift or estate taxes will be imposed on inheritances. There is speculation that the discussion will lead to something concrete as early as next week’s Federal Budget. In the meantime, there are situations where inheritances can come…

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CPP: TO DEFER OR NOT DEFER

For several years now, clients and contacts (with more frequency of late, and that’s no accident) have been asking me: “Hey Steve, I am turning 65 shortly, do I apply for CPP now or do I wait – what makes more sense financially” Based on analysis provided by experts in…

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WHAT ABOUT A CORPORATE EXECUTOR?

A lot has been written about how should choose an executor, and some of it in this blog place. A couple of years ago, fellow boggler Emily Hubling wrote eloquently about the risk and rewards of appointing a professional advisor as executor. I would like to revisit some of the…

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Hidden Fees – A Breach of Trust

Registered accounts are often set up as express trust accounts, with the bank acting as trustee and the account holder as beneficiary. In these cases, banks are subject to all the same fiduciary duties and responsibilities that apply to all trustees – meaning they cannot charge hidden fees.

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Resulting Trusts and Summary Judgment Motions

With its sandy beaches, hiking trails, canoe routes, and wildlife, the Town of Wasaga Beach is a well-loved Ontario vacation destination. However, no town, however idyllic, is immune to lengthy property disputes, especially when the two people fighting are related to each other. Brother A and Brother B were at…

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The $100 Million Executor Fee: Unexpected but not Unreasonable

This blog was written by Paula Lester – Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management When the four executors of Leona Helmsley’s $5 billion estate asked for payment of $100 million for their services, it was touted as being astronomical by the challenging Attorney General. Still, Manhattan Surrogate’s Court…

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Finally, A Nice Passing of Accounts

Passings of accounts can often be bitter and vicious. However, the case of Daniel Estate (Re), 2019 ONSC 2790 was a welcome “good news” alternative to the standard slugfest. Linda and Ted cared for their elderly neighbours Isabel and Wayne for over two decades. The court noted that their relationship…

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My Best Interests, and Yours Too?

The recent case of Tarantino v. Galvano, 2017 ONSC 3535, raises a variety of issues familiar to estate litigators – powers of attorney, capacity, quantum meruit claims, the duty to account and the rules surrounding the removal of an estate’s executor. In this case the deceased, Rosa Filippo Galvano (“Rosa”) had…

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