All About Estates

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Total 565 Posts

Right of Survivorship or Severance of a Joint Tenancy… Which One Prevails?

Today’s blog was written by Jonathon Vander Zee, student-at-law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP What happens when the right of survivorship in a property is gifted, but the donor then severs the joint tenancy of that same property? This was exactly the case in Jackson v. Rosenberg, 2023 ONSC 4403….

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Dia De Los Muertos: grief and joy

Autumn is my favourite time of year. It’s often frantically busy with work, but when I have a chance to lift my head up from year-end responsibilities, I savour the reminders of abundance, the wealth of the harvest in this corner of the world, and the crisp cool air is…

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Capacity Evaluation: the Role of Corroborative Information

In clinical geriatric psychiatry, it is an accepted standard of care to obtain corroborative information when conducting clinical evaluations.However, medical-legal tasks of capacity evaluation, such as for the evaluation of capacity to instruct counsel, testamentary capacity and possibly even capacity to appoint powers of attorney, may require strict confidentiality which prevents obtaining corroborative information from informants. As a result, obtaining corroborative information for capacity evaluation in this context is more complex than in clinical care.

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Testamentary Charitable Trusts

From the 19th century to about 1990, the testamentary charitable trust was an important estate planning structure.  These trusts are part of the will and are funded after death from estate assets.  At one time, testamentary trusts were the primary way for an individual to support one or more charities…

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Thinking about family

Given the horrific tragedy that occurred last week in Israel, I will not be posting a blog this morning. This week reaffirmed for me the reality that what impacts your loved ones also impacts you.

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No good deed goes unpunished by the CRA

Part I – Personal Attribution This blog has been written by Pritika Deepak /Associate at Fasken LLP Gifting property or making loans to family members is a common way for individuals to transfer and share their wealth with their loved ones. There are, however, several rules in the Income Tax…

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Chain of Executorship

THIS BLOG WAS WRITTEN BY ANTHONY PRANATA, ESTATE & TRUST CONSULTANT, SCOTIA WEALTH MANAGEMENT   What is harder than being the executor of an estate? Being the executor of two estates simultaneously. If you are thinking there is no way this would happen to you as long as you are…

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Can a Revoked Will Be Revived by a Holograph? 

In Estate of Harold Franklin Campbell (Re), 2023 ONSC 4315, the Court considered whether the new, curative provision under s.21.1(1) of the Succession Law Reform Act  (“SLRA”) was available to revive a Will revoked by a subsequent marriage. Facts:  Harold Franklin Campbell died on June 11, 2020. He was survived…

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Bringing a Tort Claim as an Estate Representative

Typically, estate litigation involves guardianship disputes and fights over a deceased person’s property.  In rare instances, however, estate litigation crosses over into the unfamiliar domain of personal injury law.  A recent example of this crossover can be found in the case of Campeau-Proulx v Bancroft. The facts in Campeau-Proulx v…

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THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD ADVICE IN ESTATE PLANNING

This Blog was written by Emily Racine, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management  Estate planning is a complex and emotional process under the best of times. Adding on the natural intricacies that accompany mixed families and second marriages only further adds to these emotional complexities. While it is…

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