Canada’s common-law couple boom must be matched by a wave of new estate plans if spouses want to be protected when their partners die. Over the last few decades, common-law couples have gone from the fringes to the mainstream. While they accounted for just 6 per cent of spousal relationships
Applying for probate in Ontario has just become a little simpler, but it’s still not an attractive prospect for estate trustees. The provincial government recently announced changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure that eliminate most of the estate court forms previously required to apply for probate, cutting the total
In my many years of estates law practice, I’ve seen families fall apart over inheritances large and small.But every now and then, an ugly estate fight breaks out over items with no monetary value at all.That’s what happened in a recent case involving the four children of an elderly B.C.
Testators with complex or contentious estates should think about appointing a corporateexecutor. Trust companies are certainly a more expensive option: you can expect them to charge a fee ofas much as five per cent of all assets that flow through the estate, compared with a trustedfriend or family member who
Think twice before responding to a mailbox offer for your home. If you’ve ever received one of these unsolicited bids, which often come in the form of handwritten notes decorated with dollar signs, you should comfort yourself in the knowledge that you live in an area that’s in high demand.
Keeping your small business in the family just got a lot more attractive after the passage of recent tax law amendments. Bill C-208, one of the rare private member’s bills to make it onto the statute books, changes the treatment of intergenerational share transfers for small businesses, family farms or
