All About Estates

Category: Executors

Total 297 Posts

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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Flipped property – estates beware

Executors generally liquidate the assets of an estate in a timely manner following an individual’s death. This may include the disposition of the deceased’s primary residence, cottage or rental property (herein referred to as a “housing unit”). An estate may realize a gain on a housing unit if it is…

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Revisiting the importance of language when using multiple wills

This blog contributed by Mohena Singh, Associate @ Fasken LLP A long-time practice of estate planners has been preparing multiple wills for clients to minimize the amount of estate administration tax an estate must pay. The general idea of a primary and secondary will is to exclude property that does…

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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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Suspicious Circumstances – For Wills Only

Because the doctrine of suspicious circumstances was developed in respect of probate and wills, it cannot easily be exported into other areas of law, including contract law.

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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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Royalties She Wrote: Angela Lansbury, Jessica Fletcher and literary executors

This Blog was written by Jane Martin, Scotia Wealth Management The recent passing of Angela Lansbury has me engulfed in an impromptu “Murder She Wrote” festival, and like any good estate planning professional (tell me I am not alone in this), I’ve been thinking about whether fictional Jessica Fletcher had her…

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Now Updating…Do Not Give Up Before All Revisions Are Complete

Today’s blog was written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP, in collaboration with Jessica Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. As we move into fall and the corresponding back to school (or office) routines, we in estates administration have a further revision to our primary “textbook.”  The latest…

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Estate Trustee Compensation – Discretionary Factors

Estate trustees are entitled to seek compensation for their work. Unless an exception applies, the court will exercise its discretion to determine the amount.

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