our 10th year
blog anniversary
Spence v BMO Trust Company, 2016 ONCA 196, is a topical case which has featured in our blog as recently as January 2023. This case serves as a reminder that testamentary freedom – a will-maker’s right to dispose of his or her property as he or she sees fit – is
When it comes to estate planning and administration for the modern family, embracing change is an imperative. No longer will traditional approaches set in the past based on simpler family structures meet changing client needs—and more so going forward as families continue to become even more complex. Join this webinar
The welcoming of a new child into the family is a great time for parents to update their estate plan to include their bundle of joy. But what about a new grandparent? The question always arises: should I leave anything for my grandchildren? The short answer is that you don’t
It’s important to understand who is a child and who is “issue” when these class terms are used in a will or trust agreement given changing legislation in many jurisdictions, including in Ontario, which redefines who is a parent and who is a child or issue. The All Families Are
When your child marries, you hopefully are not losing your child, but instead gaining a new son or daughter. Does this mean your new son or daughter should be treated like your child when it comes to your estate plan? Although there is no legal obligation to gift anything to
Clients like to say that they don’t have any personal effects of value. While they likely mean monetary value, they are overlooking the sentimental value these items may have. Fights over estates are not always about the dollars and cents. It is not uncommon to see fights among beneficiaries that
Heading into a new year is always a great time to think about what you need to accomplish over the next 12 months. Preparing or updating your estate plan is usually high on that list. But in some cases, you may not be as concerned with your estate plan as
I recently had the pleasure to participate in a webinar for the Canadian Legal Innovation Forum on contemporary drivers, trends and disruptive forces in estates practice and how estate lawyers are evolving their practices to meet them. One of the topics addressed in our panel discussion was generational and societal
It is trite, but perhaps worth repeating that for many people, one of their primary estate planning goals is to take care of their spouse after their death. This is particularly the case if most of the couple’s assets are held by one spouse or where the spouses are in
Jointly held assets are a popular estate planning tool because of how simple they appear. Adding a child on title to the house seems like a quick way to avoid paying probate taxes, or adding them as a joint owner on a bank account could be a convenient way to