Author: Margaret O'Sullivan

Foreign Beneficiaries and Foreign Estate Taxes: With Globalization Comes Complexity

Margaret O'Sullivan February 18, 2026

Canadian families are more global than ever and this trend will only continue. Children and other family members increasingly work in other countries, sometimes staying after post-secondary education at a foreign college or university, forming relationships, including marriage, having children, and settling in their new home jurisdiction. Others emigrate to

Estate Tax Reform and the Impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Canadians

Margaret O'Sullivan December 30, 2025

In our blog just under a year ago of January 29, 2025, we speculated on what to expect for U.S. estate tax under a second Trump administration. With the decrease to about half the current amount of the lifetime exclusion amount set to occur on January 1, 2026 unless new

You Decide: Advance Requests and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)

Margaret O'Sullivan October 15, 2025

The role of the estate planning lawyer has greatly expanded over the last three decades with the advent in the 1990s in Ontario of modern legislation dealing with substitute decision-making, including powers of attorney for property and for personal care; see our updated Advisory on this. Part of the planning

Why Do We Procrastinate When It Comes to Estate Planning?

Margaret O'Sullivan August 6, 2025

Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off tasks. It’s not about laziness or indolence, but is caused by fear or anxiety or as a way to cope with unpleasant emotions. Wealthy, successful people can be the biggest procrastinators. In fact, among respondents with a doctorate or master’s degree,

Changing Your Mind and Your Family Trust Can Be Hard to Do: Just Ask Rupert Murdoch

Margaret O'Sullivan June 10, 2025

Many of you may have read about the recent Murdoch family trust dispute, the elements of which are a real-life drama even more interesting than an episode of the Succession series, thought to be based on the Murdoch family’s trials and tribulations. The court decision in this case provides lessons to

Making Controversial Gifts and Personal Autonomy: The Right to Decide

Margaret O'Sullivan April 1, 2025

What does the law say about your autonomy to make gifts, whether during your lifetime or on death under your will? When will the law intervene, and when will it step aside? This issue is of increasing importance in our aging society where many of us will live well into

What Can We Expect for U.S. Estate Tax Under a Second Trump Administration?

Margaret O'Sullivan January 29, 2025

Now that Donald Trump has been inaugurated, what can we expect to happen to U.S. estate tax? There has been a rapid flurry of executive orders and announcements since the January 20, 2025 inauguration, but not yet any guidance on what to expect for U.S. estate tax in 2025 and

Discretionary Trusts and Family Law Division: 50% of Zero is Still Zero

Margaret O'Sullivan September 5, 2024

Courts in common law jurisdictions continue to grapple with how to deal with a spouse’s interest in a discretionary trust when there is a marital breakdown, and whether to include them in property division, and if included, how to value them in dividing family property. There have been shifts by

Canadians at the Polls: What Does the Next Federal Election Mean for Private Clients?

Margaret O'Sullivan July 24, 2024

Election fervour and fever continues to escalate south of the border and Canada will soon follow. Our last federal election was September 20, 2021, and constitutional and statutory provisions require that the next federal election must be held no more than 5 years after a preceding election and by the

A New Paradigm: Wealth Advising for the Future

Margaret O'Sullivan June 14, 2024

As an estate lawyer, how many times have I said under my breath to myself as my clients have exited the boardroom after an often lengthy, revealing, intense, and always interesting meeting: “I don’t need a law degree – I need a psychology degree!” I am sure my sentiment is

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Dad Added Me to His Bank Account – Do I Get the Money When He Dies?

Foreign Beneficiaries and Foreign Estate Taxes: With Globalization Comes Complexity

Wills and Estates 101: Keeping Your Legal Terms Straight – Part 2

Powers of Appointment: How They Work and Their Benefits

Author: Margaret O'Sullivan

Foreign Beneficiaries and Foreign Estate Taxes: With Globalization Comes Complexity

Estate Tax Reform and the Impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Canadians

You Decide: Advance Requests and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)

Why Do We Procrastinate When It Comes to Estate Planning?

Changing Your Mind and Your Family Trust Can Be Hard to Do: Just Ask Rupert Murdoch

Making Controversial Gifts and Personal Autonomy: The Right to Decide

What Can We Expect for U.S. Estate Tax Under a Second Trump Administration?

Discretionary Trusts and Family Law Division: 50% of Zero is Still Zero

Canadians at the Polls: What Does the Next Federal Election Mean for Private Clients?

A New Paradigm: Wealth Advising for the Future

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