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Investing Estate Assets

Provincial legislation governing trustee course of conduct stipulates that a trustee may invest trust property in any form of property in which a prudent investor might invest.  It also outlines the criteria that a trustee must follow in planning the investment of trust property which includes but is not limited to the following:  1. General […]

Who Can Be A Party In Estates Court?

From time to time I am asked the question whether an individual, given their relationship to an estate, has standing to start or participate in a court proceeding to resolve an issue with respect to the estate. In particular, a potential beneficiary may not know whether there is a will or whether any gift has […]

Estate Valuation Mistakes Are Costly!

Among the many duties of an estate trustee is the task of ascertaining what assets form the estate and the value to be attributed to them.  This process is critical to determine estate administration tax that may be applicable, whether there is enough value to satisfy any debts and administration expenses of the estate and […]

A Warning to Uninformed Beneficiaries

An estate trustee has a duty to keep accurate accounts of their management of an estate. On occasion, an estate trustee or other interested party may seek formal approval of an accounting, called a passing of accounts, by “passing” them through the courts.  Although there are several stages of an estate administration at which a […]

Presumption of Death

Yesterday, the Toronto Star reported that Judy Samson’s 38-year search for her brother, Alexander “Sandy” Gammie had finally ended.  For 38 years, Ms. Samson had never stopped looking, reportedly even asking the police in Hawaii while she was on vacation whether he had returned to the state. She reported him missing to the RCMP in […]

Intention to Create A Trust

A trust is an arrangement in which property is transferred from one person to a second person who agrees to hold it for the benefit of a third person. Persons can play dual roles with respect to the functioning of the trust in certain situations. Inter vivos trusts can be set up in a document […]

Rival Siblings Call For Estate Trustee Removal

There are numerous reasons why parties who have a financial interest in an estate, such as creditors or beneficiaries may be dissatisfied with the performance of an estate trustee and eventually seek to have them removed.  These reasons include lengthy delay in administration of the estate, refusal to disclose pertinent information, unwillingness to provide proper […]

Misunderstood Ownership Causes Will Gifts to Fail

When creating an estate plan, the importance of reviewing the assets and debts of a testator as well as title to same cannot be underestimated.  We have seen over the years and continue to see unfortunate cases where testators mistakenly thought they were gifting assets to loved ones but a very different result was achieved […]

Insuring The Risks of Being An Executor

Many people grant the request to act as executor for an estate as an honour to a loved one. Others feel a sense of obligation and duty to fulfill a testator’s dying wish.  Still others who are professionals, accept the role for their clients’ estates. However, an increasing number of people are realizing mid-stream that […]

Estate Planning for Rewards Points

Many people today have accumulated a significant number of frequent flyer or other reward program points.  These points can have substantial value.  In fact, I recently received an email relaying the strategy one person developed to travel around the world very inexpensively using his rewards points earned skillfully through his credit card.  I must admit […]