All About Estates

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Total 571 Posts

BILL C-62 – Delays the inclusion of mental illness from MAID eligibility

Everyone knows the tragic Shakespeare tale of how Juliet awakens from her “death” to discover that her love Romeo had taken his life, believing that Juliet had really died.  Juliet, in her own state of sorrow, stabs herself with a dagger and is joined forever with her love Romeo. This…

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Firearms, Wills, Estates, and the impact of Bill C-21

Bill C-21- An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms)   This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Estates practitioners should be aware that Bill C-21, the controversial legislation which imposes strict gun control provisions Canada-wide, received Royal Assent…

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Section 3 Counsel’s Entitlement to Costs

The Court in Gadula v Leroux, 2016 ONSC 6990 provided quite an interesting discussion regarding the entitlement of costs for all parties involved in a guardianship application and from where the costs were to be taken from. The issue of costs is unsurprisingly common in estate litigation and in litigation…

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Charity Governance and Estate Donations

The headline is not intended to scare you off.  Admittedly, governance is a notoriously dull topic, made worse by the enthusiasm of governance wonks.  Charity governance is rarely a matter considered, at least overtly, by an estate donor when planning a gift by will. But strong governance is essential to good charities….

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Tax Considerations for Gifts of Art in Canada

Gwenyth Stadig, Associate and Upama Poudyal, Articling Student  – Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP An increasing number of Canadian taxpayers are interested in giving pieces of art to charities or other qualified donees as part of their estate plans. Some of these Canadian taxpayers are choosing to make decisions to give…

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Taxable Preferred Shares – Some Potential Relief for Specified Amounts

Andrew Coates, Associate, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP The potential tax implications of estate trustees finding themselves holding taxable preferred shares (“TPS“) owned by a deceased and the “substantial interest” exception for Part VI.1 tax was explored previously in the March 2, 2021 post, but TPS is a complicated subject so…

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Wish lists are for more than just the holiday season

This blog has been written by Mohena Singh [Associate] at Fasken LLP As we near the new year and reflect on another holiday season, many of us may have used this time to spend with family and friends or catch up on some much needed rest and recovery. This time…

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Nuns and Money with Purpose

It’s the holidays.  A time for giving, family, and tradition.  The holiday mood inspired me to think about “money with purpose” that passes from one generation to the next – a bit like holiday traditions. Seeing my mother last weekend triggered these thoughts.  She reminded me of a story of how she led…

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Father Time: A Limitation Period Refresher

As the holiday season is upon us and the new year approaches, many of us are thinking about time. For those in the litigation world, time, and more specifically, limitation periods, should always be top of mind. This blog serves as a refresher for some of the limitation periods that…

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Collections as Estate Assets

For some, collecting is a way of life.  Unique legal and practical issues arise for an executor when an estate includes a collection.  In this article, I explore some of those issues when dealing with collections of fine wine, cultural artifacts, and firearms.   Wine During COVID, the Ontario government…

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