All About Estates

Category: Charitable Giving

Total 78 Posts

The Perpetual Debate over Endowments

  Charitable endowments are having a challenging moment.  Despite the historical success of this medieval European charitable fund structure, the accumulation of capital for public benefit has always faced controversy.  Endowments, which focus on long-term public benefit, have a built-in tension between capital and annual spending.  Does the capital exist…

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The Cy-Près Doctrine: When Good Intentions Count For Something

The cy-près doctrine It is common practice to leave a gift to a charity in your will. However, the charity that the testator wished to support may not have been named properly in the will (leading to confusion about who was supposed to benefit from the funds), or may have…

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Giving Tuesday

This past weekend was the American Thanksgiving.  Black Friday sales and shopping and ‘savings’ ( an oxymoron, no?) advertisements were everywhere. Fortunately there is penance to be had with GivingTuesday, which is  tomorrow.  I can dissuade any guilt by giving to those less fortunate.   According to givingtuesday.ca, this is “a…

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Campaign Donors Permitted to Advance Trust Claim

GoFundMe is arguably the most recognized crowd funding platform used by many who seek to raise funds from the public domain to support a defined goal. Legal issues have been raised surrounding the funds donated through platforms such as GoFundMe, particularly when the funds are used for something other than…

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Life Interest or Licence to Use?

A person’s house is often their most valuable assets – both monetarily and emotionally. As a result, testators tend to put a lot of thought into who, and how, they wish to leave their house. However, as is always the case, best laid plans often go awry. One example of this, explored in the 2022 Court of Appeal of Ontario decision Barsoski Estate v Wesley, is when it is unclear whether the will gifts someone with a life interest in the house or a licence to use the property.

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