Estate Planning for the Modern Family: How to Avoid Litigation
Estate planning has only become more complicated in today’s modern society of remarriages, second families, and non-traditional relationships. The desire to ensure the well-being of a second spouse or common-law partner after your death may conflict with your goals to ultimately benefit and provide for your children from previous relationships. And you will no doubt want to avoid a scenario where your loved ones are left fighting over money after your death. How do you do this?
A Cautionary Tale: Plan ahead to designate the beneficiaries for your Ontario Pension
As you approach the later years of life, it is important to meet with a lawyer to have a Will drafted so you know exactly what is going to happen to your assets when you pass away. One issue that should be canvassed during this meeting is your Ontario Pension plan beneficiary designation.
What problems are you creating if you die without a Will?
Getting your Will drawn up is not always an easy process. It can require a lot of thought and consideration, consultation with multiple family members, and an appointment with a lawyer. It’s not surprising that many people don’t get around to it. A recent study found that around 74 per cent of Canadians don’t have… Read more »
Acting as an Attorney for Property – Know these top 10 tips
Far too often an individual will begin acting as an attorney for property without appreciating or fully understanding their obligations under this role. Here are some important tips to keep in mind to avoid breaching your duties as an attorney for property.
Who Can You Appoint As Your Estate Trustee?
An estate trustee is the person or one of the people that you name in your Will to take care of all of your personal belongings or your financial assets after you have died. Should you choose a professional vs lay person as estate trustee – What are the costs? Is one type of estate trustee better than another type?
Friend or Foe? Who can be appointed as your Power of Attorney?
As you plan for your future, one of the questions that you must consider is: what will happen if you don’t have a friend or relative to appoint as your Power of Attorney?
Power of Attorney for Personal Care – Can access be denied?
Issues of access are beginning to arise more frequently in Power of Attorney situations. When planning your estate, there are many things you need to consider.
Notice Periods When the Related Legislation is Silent
Legislation is notorious for being hyper-granular and specific one moment, and then vague and unclear the next. Sometimes the issue you’re interested in is entirely absent from the act. This can make interpretation very difficult for lawyers, and even more so for those who don’t have a legal background. So what happens when the piece of legislation you are relying on is silent on an issue?
Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Homes: What’s The Difference?
However, many people are unaware about the differences between these facilities. One key difference is that long-term care homes provide 24-hour nursing care and supervision to their residents, whereas retirement homes provide rental accommodation with care and services available for their residents at an additional cost. However, there are plenty of other differences as well. Here are the top things you should know about long-term care homes and retirement homes in Ontario.
Enforceability of marriage contract considered
For many years now, the issue of enforceability of a Maher marriage contract as well as its interrelationship with provincial family law property regimes has been considered by our courts. This issue was put before the Ontario Court of Appeal very recently in Bakhshi v. Hosseinzadeh, 2017 ONCA 838 and the court’s analysis of this particular Maher is worthy of review by those practising family law in Ontario.