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 […]
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 […]