All About Estates

Category: Estate Administration and Probate Applications

Total 110 Posts

New Privacy Legislation Aims to Address Digital Assets in Estate Administration

Practitioners and clients alike have come to realize that there can be numerous legal challenges to administering a testator’s digital assets, including, among them, ambiguous or restrictive privacy legislation. For most Canadian provinces,[1] the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) does not appear to grant executors, trustees, or…

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The Mysteries of Probate, Revealed

Of all the questions I am asked about the administration of estates, the ones that come up the most frequently are: “what is probate?”; “how do I know if I need probate?”; and “what’s involved in applying for probate?” Herein – the answers.

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Big New Rules for Small Estates

The law in Canada is not static – it evolves and changes to meet our society’s needs through incremental changes to the common law (i.e. the application and interpretation of the law through the courts) and through legislative changes. One recent change to Ontario’s laws was made through the Smarter…

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Valuing Estate Assets – A Hierarchy of Evidence

Acting as an estate trustee can be a difficult job. It is often made more difficult when you have to work with a sibling. While the types of disputes co-estate trustees can have with one another are seemingly infinite, one common fight is over valuing an estate asset. Valuing estate…

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Use of Cottage By Children of Settlor of an Alter Ego/Joint Partner Trust

Both alter ego and joint partner trusts (the trust) allow a settlor to transfer capital assets into the trust on a tax-deferred basis if the following conditions are met: The trust is created after 1999. The settlor is at least 65 at the time of creation. In the case of…

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Does the Estate Trustee Always Participate in Estate Litigation?

One of the duties of an estate trustee is to respond to litigation brought against the estate. The estate trustee is also the only person with the authority to start litigation on behalf of the estate. Because estates are not legal entities such as corporations, the party to the litigation…

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Probate Points to Remember Part 2 – Some Additional Tips

In my blog Probate Points to Remember – A.K.A. Names and More – All About Estates of October 16, 2020, I shared from my list of “Probate Points to Remember”.  I provided tips regarding how to name individuals, including the deceased, executors and beneficiaries, such as when using “also known…

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Probate Points to Remember – A.K.A. Names and More

As I have prepared applications for certificates of appointment of estate trustee (“Probate Applications”) over the years, I have kept a list that I call “Probate Points to Remember”.  The purpose of this list is to remind me of how I have handled certain practical matters on Probate Applications.  In…

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Welcome Changes in the Filing of Probate Applications

I would like to thank the estates law clerks in the Private Client Services group of Fasken for their contributions to this blog. This week, Attorney General Doug Downey (perhaps in the spirit of Thanksgiving) hinted at upcoming changes in the area of estates that would “manage the estate process…

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What Makes a Marriage?

Each province in Canada establishes its own rules regarding the distribution of property where a person dies without a will. In Ontario, intestate succession is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”). Inheritance on intestacy is limited to married spouses and blood relations. If a…

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