All About Estates

Tag: estates

Total 102 Posts

Atypical Asset Administration (Part 2)

This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Welcome back! This is Part 2 of a two-part series on unusual assets and estate administration. For part one, please see my blog post here. Typical assets in an estate consist of real property, automobiles, corporations, investments,…

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Cremation and the Burial or Scattering of Ashes – Things to Consider

I am an avid reader and always learn something new, even when reading for pleasure. The novel I recently finished, Cold, Cold Bones, by Kathy Reichs was no exception. This is the paragraph that piqued my interest: “A woman in Mount Holly was struck by a falling object while wrapping…

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Considerations when Administering a Canadian Estate with US Situs Assets

Today’s blog is written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. As today’s world continues to grow increasingly interconnected, more estate professionals find themselves dealing with a web of cross-border assets and jurisdictional issues.  This post considers certain issues that you might face when administering a Canadian estate…

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Intestacy 101

Today’s blog was written by Courtney Lanthier, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. People in our profession often cringe when they hear the words “they died without a Will”, because as soon as we do, we can almost always envision problems arising. Unfortunately, it has become more and more common to…

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Atypical Asset Administration (Part 1)

This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Picture this: you are an executor cleaning out your mother’s apartment. Under the bed you unexpectedly find five (5) handguns and a hand grenade. Do you (a) call the police, (b) secure the items somewhere safe until…

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What Happens if Something Happens to your Executor?

Choosing who to name as the executor of your estate is an important decision to make when preparing your will (and a topic on which other All About Estates blogs have been written). But what happens if something happens to your executor, and they are unable or unwilling to act?…

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Will The Vacant Home Tax Impact Use of the Principal Residence Exemption; Estate Planning Considerations

  Overview The Ontario government has enabled municipalities to enact a tax on vacant residential units in their regions (Granted under Part IX.1 of the Municipal Act).[1] Each municipality has to pass a By-Law stating the tax rate and conditions of vacancy that, if met, make a property subject to…

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Valuation of Interests in Discretionary trusts and Family Law

These days, it is quite common to find intergenerational wealth transfer to consist of property held in a discretionary family trust whose beneficiaries may or may not have been in marital relationships at the time of the time the trusts were created. A siginifcant number of legal and financials issues…

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The Secret Language of Estates, and Inflation

Estates clerks and lawyers “speak” their own language.  We use acronyms or initialisms[1] such as CAET, EIR, RCP, ARI, AET, GRE, POA and COLA.  We use abbreviations like Benys and T’ees, and we draw triangles.  The idea for this blog was born when reflecting on having to interpret a lawyer’s…

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ELDER ABUSE: A GROWING PROBLEM IN AN AGING POPULATION

Today’s blog is co-written by Jennifer Campbell and Sandra Arsenault, Senior Law Clerks in the Private Client Services Group at Fasken. At the beginning of November, we were fortunate enough to attend the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO) annual conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  This conference brings together law clerks…

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