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Can Someone Else Decide How to Divide Your Estate?

Most often, a person making a will decides exactly how their estate will be divided and to whom their assets will be gifted, subject of course to any legal limitations (such as creditors, taxes and family obligations).  It is, however, possible to give someone else the authority to make that decision.  This is known as […]

Resolving Real Estate Title Problems Before Closing

From time to time, a real estate purchaser`s lawyer finds problems with title to the property their client wants to buy.  Unfortunately, these types of issues cannot be resolved by negotiation alone.  Often times, the purchaser will ask whether it is the type of issue that gives them the right to exit the transaction.  Although […]

Family Law and Business Succession

A major objective of the family law matrimonial property regime is to achieve equal division of “family assets”, between spouses on death or marriage breakdown.  Specifically, a spouse’s marriage assets, referred to in family law legislation as his or her “net family property” are calculated as the increase, if any, in his or her net […]

Freezing to Retire: Family Business Succession

When assessing opportunities to exit an operating business, owners must consider their personal and economic goals and the needs, objectives and capabilities of their family members. In this context, we are focusing on private corporations, the shares of which are held by related persons.  The tax implications of each possible strategy are important, not just […]

Appealing Property Tax Assessments

As property taxation continues to increase over time, land owners are becoming more and more concerned about property assessments and looking at the appeal process for solutions.  Generally, two areas of disagreement and options to obtain relief regarding  property taxation are: 1. The land owner may believe that a property should be exempt from municipal […]

Choosing a Lawyer: Beware of An Over-Delegator!

Choosing an appropriate professional to assist you with a legal problem can be a difficult task.  Many people focus on ensuring that the proposed professional is qualified to handle their matter.  In this respect, too many stop at confirming the proposed lawyer has a legal degree and a license from the law society.  Some go […]

Precautions Against Excessive Beneficiary “Friendliness”

From time to time, factors arise in a will-making initiative that indicate that a will is not being prepared by the testator’s own “free will” but may in fact have underlying influences of coercion or fraud.  Obviously, it is critical that a will be based upon a testator’s wishes and not those of a friend […]

Spousal Choice for Inheritance

Provincial family legislation allows a surviving spouse to elect to either receive the gift(s) left them under their deceased spouse’s will (or according to succession legislation, if there was no will) or receive an equalization of marital property under said family legislation.  Usually, the surviving spouse determines his or her entitlement under both options and […]

Disinheriting Trouble-Making Beneficiaries

Testators who want to ensure that their beneficiaries do not challenge the provisions in their will often include what are known as in terrorem or ‘no contest’ clauses.  An in terrorem clause is designed to frighten a beneficiary into doing or not doing something, for example, by revocation of a bequest or devise if the […]

The Children’s Lawyer’s Concerns About RESPs

Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) are financial vehicles designed to help parents, relatives and other people save for a child’s post-secondary education.  Specifically, they are a contract between the plan issuer and the subscriber (the person(s) who opened the plan and makes contributions into it for the purpose of saving for a particular child). They […]