Real Estate Law Blog

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Succession planning a must for lawyers

Lawyers need to practice what they preach and implement a succession plan that kicks in when they are no longer willing or able to continue in the profession.   Sole and small-firm practitioners have no problem telling their clients to get an estate plan in place to ensure their family and friends

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New trust reporting rules on their way

Trusts are getting more transparent. Since 2018, the Federal government has been planning to chip away at the privacy of a wide variety of trust types. Legislation originally slated to come into force last year dramatically increased the amount of information they must turn over to the Canada Revenue Agency,

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Canada’s common-law couple boom calls for estates action

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

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Big changes, small impact as probate process overhauled

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

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Complex estates may call for a corporate executor

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

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