I recently received an email from the member services department of the Canadian Bar Association which began as follows: “30% of our clients are lawyers that accept personal executor appointments. If it’s good for the lawyer, shouldn’t you tell your estate executor clients that it’s good for them, too?” The…
Saturday’s Toronto Star featured an article on a marriage “predator”. The article tells the sad story of an 89 year old man – Charlie – who married a 65 year old woman – Galina – because she promised to look after him and ensure he’d never have to move to…
The, seemingly constant, flow of bad news about aging bodies and brains can be depressing. On this site alone I’ve read many chilling facts and statistics on matters impacting our aging population. The prevalence of depression, the frequency and potentially dire consequences of falls and how the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s or a related dementia…
March is fraud prevention month. Fraud is an equal opportunity crime. Fraud targets individuals of all ages, ethnicities and walks of life. Businesses large and small can also fall victim. That being said, seniors are particularly vulnerable. Fraud is the leading type of crime experienced by older Canadians. According to…
I was recently drawn to the Life section of the Toronto Star – more specifically the “advice column” – by a compellling headline; to wit: “Don’t let inheritance issues tear your family apart”. So far, sound advice. However, the author went on to provide some inaccurate information on Powers of Attorney to…
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…
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…
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.
A short while ago, I decided to divest myself of some comic books I’d been holding onto for many, many years. A quick search on Kijiji led me to a local potential buyer. He offered a modest payment which I accepted.
Love and money, a sometimes toxic mix.
