Don’t forget your debts in estate planning
When you get past the squeamishness of confronting your own death, it can be rewarding to think about how to allocate all of your major financial, physical and sentimentally valuable…
Mother intended to gift daughter $1.7m withdrawn from joint account, court finds
Opening a joint account with your child is not a step to be taken lightly. There are undeniably good estate planning reasons for owning property jointly with a beneficiary, since…
Court intervention required after testator outlives her executor and most beneficiaries
In some ways, outliving your beneficiaries is a good problem to have. It’s usually a sign that you’ve lived a long (and hopefully healthy) life, but it should also be…
Disinherited daughter must pay sister $55k costs for meritless will challenge
Testators should expect some blowback from their disinherited kids when they decide to split their estate unequally between their children. Whatever the state of their recent relationship, the death of…
Family business issues complicate administration of mother’s estate
There’s nothing that blurs the lines between personal and corporate property quite like a family business. And when the founders die, leaving behind their feuding children, it only complicates matters…
$80-million estate of Ontario businessman embroiled in litigation
It’s hard to think of a better recipe for an estate fight than a deceased with an $80-million fortune and skepticism about estate planning. According to a Brantford Expositor story,…
Common-law spouse does not have to share deceased partner’s home
Legal advice is a must for testators with complex family dynamics. Second (or third) marriages, stepfamilies and common-law relationships are no longer the novelty they once were in Canada. And…
Dad’s $400k gift to stepdaughter clawed back into estate
When is a gift not a gift? When you can’t prove it’s what the giver intended. Disputed gifts delivered during the lifetime of the deceased are among the most common…
Copy of missing will validated after court hearing
A lost will is usually as good as no will at all. When the original version of a will can not be found after the testator’s death, the courts typically…
Court splits POA duties between siblings
When it comes to powers of attorney, many hands often make heavy work, especially when siblings are involved. Considering the immense responsibility that comes with an appointment under a POA,…
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