You’ve met with your client for a final signing meeting. They can breathe a sigh of relief – their Will (or Wills) and Powers of Attorney are done! I have bad news – the process isn’t quite done yet. Of course, you will prepare a reporting letter, send your final…
Category: Wills
Total 283 Posts
Under the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA), a will or codicil must be “signed” to be valid. The case of BMO Trust Company v. Cosgrove, 2021 ONSC 5681 considered what handwritten form of a person’s name constituted a signature. Nola Louise Bogie hired a lawyer to prepare her will. However,…
As a Toronto native, I couldn’t help but listen to rapper Drake’s highly-anticipated new album Certified Lover Boy, which he released just a few weeks ago. In fact, it has been enjoying record-breaking streaming numbers from music fans around the world, amassing a staggering 153 million global Spotify streams in…
Today’s blog was written by Courtney Lanthier, law clerk at Fasken LLP I was watching a show recently where, when a character passed away, he left his family a video message that included how he wanted to divide his estate. As someone who recently started drafting wills and working through…
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been asked on numerous occasions to weigh in on whether specific post-mortem planning implemented by taxpayers to avoid double taxation would result in a deemed dividend. In a recent ruling, the CRA concluded that it would not apply either specific tax rules or the…
This blog was written by Sierra Nunno While many young people cling to the acronym YOLO, which stands for ‘you only live once,’ the truth is YODO… you only die once. Ideally, upon death, our wishes are carried out according to plan and we rest peacefully. But what if there…
A charitable remainder trust (CRT), although not widely used in Canada, can be a useful charitable giving tool that generates an immediate tax credit for the donor. In an inter vivos context, an individual establishes an alter ego trust and transfers property to the trust on a tax-deferred basis. The trust holds…
This blog was written by Maggie Dalke – Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management Estate planning can be very complex and there is always a lot of detail to cover with our clients. We look at how to achieve a tax efficient estate, address estate liquidity, beneficiary designations,…
My colleague Joanna Lindenberg and I had previously blogged on the case of Bayford v. Boese (the decision and the costs decision, respectively) where the court upheld the validity of a challenged will (the second of two ‘versions’ of the same will). However, in Bayford v. Boese, 2021 ONCA 442…
This Blog was written by Emily Racine, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management After being in this business for nearly a decade, I often hear from clients about the stress and worry that is associated with estate planning. This stress can often cause a blockage for some clients…