All About Estates

Category: Elder Care

Total 360 Posts

Jam Needs a Plan: Estate Planning for Pets

Estate planning for pets has made for some very wealthy animals. Remember the US hotel heiress Leona Hemsley? Known as the Queen of Mean, she left $12 million out of her estimated $5 billion estate to her Maltese lap dog, Trouble. The dog’s inheritance was reduced to $2 million, but…

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Home is Where You Hang Your Hat- or is it?

Retirement accommodation can be costly.  I have written about the cost of remaining at home with 24 hour care ( $35/hr on average in Canada), I have written about NORCs and sharing the caring and I have written about retirement residences and long term care homes. CTV News had an…

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An Elder Care Planning Framework for Decision Making, Part 2

This blog post on the Elder Care Planning Framework for Decision Making, Part 2, is based on a panel presentation at Elder Law Day in Toronto in March 2023. Participants expressed an interest in using the elder care planning framework to provide context for decision-making and planning. Part 1 proposed…

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What is the Consent and Capacity Board?

Capacity is a key component of estate litigation, especially in guardianship and attorneyship disputes. Questions of when someone has begun acting as an attorney for property and whether a person had the requisite capacity to designate a party as their attorney are some of the ways this issue plays out….

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Proposing an Elder Care Planning Framework for Decision Making

The Elder Care Planning Framework In March 2023, I was a panellist at the Ontario Bar Association’s Elder Law Day, where Dr. Richard Shulman and I spoke about decision-making capacity. In preparing our presentation, we developed this tool to aid in planning decision-making for elder care management and related financial,…

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Representation of Incapable Individuals

In disputes relating to the guardianship of an incapable person, the subject of their representation often arises. The appointment of counsel pursuant to section 3 of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30 (“section 3 counsel”) is often treated as akin to or even the same as the…

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Is there a doctor in the house?

“Ontario will be short 33,000 nurses and PSWs by 2028”, financial watchdog projects. Folks, please pay attention, we are already feeling the shortage of medical care in our hospitals, long term care settings and of course, at home as well. My own family doctor is retiring and I suppose I…

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Implementing Powers of Attorney for Personal Care: Game Changers for Managing Care

Medicine can do many things but at the end of life what matters most is not necessarily treatment but making peace with yourself on your terms. Atul Gawande, Being Mortal. Advanced care planning is an evolving process where individuals outline their wishes regarding their care and medical decision-making based on…

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Game Changers in Managing Care: Powers of Attorney for Personal Care (POAPC) & Substitute Decision Making

It’s Super Bowl Sunday as I write this, and in the lead-up to the game, football fans are debating what game changers may be possible to gain an advantage and win. Why not apply the same breakthrough analogy to address critical issues in managing care? What game changers can we…

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The Caregiver Crisis in Canada and How to Navigate It

The Caregiver Crisis in Canada Have you attended a social event lately with people aged 40 to 60? Often described as the ‘sandwich generation,’ they try to care for older family or friends while working full-time, coping with busy family lives, and raising children. No doubt the conversation will turn…

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