All About Estates

Category: Funeral Planning

Total 26 Posts

Canadian State Funerals, a deep dive

My dog and I have a habit of visiting our neighbours at least once a week. After Final Jeopardy, maybe on a Tuesday or Wednesday, I ask George if she wants to go visiting, and my little cockapoo loses her little dog mind, races to the door, and charges down…

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Dia De Los Muertos: grief and joy

Autumn is my favourite time of year. It’s often frantically busy with work, but when I have a chance to lift my head up from year-end responsibilities, I savour the reminders of abundance, the wealth of the harvest in this corner of the world, and the crisp cool air is…

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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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You’re not my mother!

A child’s relationship with their parents is complicated. If a child is in extended society care, previously known as being a Crown ward, that’s probably an understatement. But what happens in the unfortunate situation that a child under society care passes away? Nobody likes to contemplate the death of a…

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Estate Planning for Eco-Conscious Canadians: Arranging an Eco-Friendly Death

This Blog was written by Lara Besharat   Throughout the last year and a half, the pandemic, and the precarious nature of our collective health, has rested firmly at the forefront of everyone’s minds. This has led to a significant increase in estate planning. However, for many, there is still one…

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Can You Preserve Your Tattoos After Your Death?

Introduction Last year, I wrote a blog post about estate planning for tattoo artists, which focused primarily on the intellectual property rights of tattoo artists in their tattoo designs and the ways in which such rights conflict with the rights of the people who actually bear such designs on their…

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LIFE INSURANCE IN THE COVID-19 ERA

As someone who has been around the life insurance industry in a professional and personal capacity for several decades, I am always curious about what motivates people to buy or not buy life insurance. I understand that few people spend time thinking about the consequences of low-probability events and are…

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Unclaimed Bodies and Setting Things Right

Unhappily, it is not uncommon for family members to be at loggerheads as to who controls the body of a loved one and whether the body should be cremated or buried. I previously blogged on the 2018 case Miller v. Miller, a decision by Justice Myers of the ONSC, which…

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“Death be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so…” – John Donne

It is never easy when a loved one dies. Only adding to one’s grief is the fact that the administrative tasks to deal with a death can be complicated. There is any number of loose-ends to address and specific steps to take to bring finality to a life well-lived.

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A Lot of Plots or a Plot of Lots?

Reading my colleague Diana’s blog of a few weeks ago, ‘Whose Land Is It Anyways’ ,  reminded me of my friend’s current challenge.   She owns a lovely piece of  prime real estate in a prestigious and sought-after location in mid-town Toronto (off Yonge Street) with a great view!  Sounds…

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