Blended families complicate estate planning
You already know that dying without a will is the safest way to ensure that you have absolutely no options whatsoever as to how your estate is to be divided.…
5 Common Will Drafting Mistakes
Write your will right and it will do exactly what you want and need it to do when you die. Your will is your roadmap to your loved ones and…
What are the duties of an executor?
Being appointed executor of an estate is a big job. While the official definition of the role sounds fairly straight-forward — gather up the estate assets, pay the deceased’s debts…
Choose the right executor for your estate
One of the many important decisions you need to make when making a will is choosing an executor for your estate. This is the person who will wind up your…
When did you last update your will?
If you’ve written a will—congratulations—you are amongst the half of Canadian adults who say they’ve written a will. If you are amongst the other 50% of Canadians, read here to…
5 Bad Things That Could Happen if You Die Without a Will
Do you know what happens if you die without a will? Here’s the story of one family who learned the hard way. In this family, the grandmother (who had a…
Do You Need a Life Insurance Trust?
Answering the question of whether you need a life insurance trust first requires an explanation of what it is. A life insurance trust is a trust established by the settlor…
Reasons to write a Power of Attorney for personal care
A Power of Attorney (POA) for personal care is a legal document that gives someone you trust the right to make medical decisions on your behalf, if and when you…
Insurance trusts control timing, use of funds upon death
An insurance trust is a good mechanism for controlling the use and timing of life insurance proceeds following the death of the insured, Toronto wills and estates lawyer Lisa Laredo…
5 more reasons you need to write a will now
January has come and gone but we’re still going on about the New Year’s resolution that should have been at the top of the list for at least half of…