Relying on non-lawyers to prepare your will may save a few $ now but comes...
I'm going to tell you a story. A true one. About 20 years ago, a mother and father wanted to do their wills. One of their daughters had recently obtained a diploma as a legal assistant and convinced...
View ArticleFuneral expenses: Why executors should pay them promptly
In every estate, there is a funeral bill to be paid. Does it matter if it's paid quickly? Who is supposed to pay it? What if you pay it but want to be reimbursed? What if the funeral expenses are...
View ArticleThinking of challenging an executor? Think carefully before committing to it.
Earlier today I answered a question from a reader about whether or not it is worth it to take an executor to court for taking money from the estate, selling off assets too cheaply, and doing other...
View ArticleFisherman's Friend businesswoman leaves 41-million pound estate to charitable...
I recently read a story online about Doreen Lofthouse that I find interesting. Mrs. Lofthouse was the powerhouse who turned the Fisherman's Friend brand of cough drops into an incredibly successful...
View ArticleCan the executors named in a will of a living person be removed without being...
A reader has posted a question that I'd like to talk about today. This is a topic I've run into hundreds of times so I think it deserves a bit of attention. Here is the question: "Can the assigned...
View ArticleCan someone acting under a POA change a beneficiary designation?
I'd like to pick up on a comment left this week by a reader about Enduring Powers of Attorney. This is a topic that deserves a little bit more attention. I had said in a post that a person acting under...
View ArticleJudge decides that mother "inexplicably" leaving daughter out of will wasn't...
There's an interesting new case from Ontario that I'd like to discuss today. Mrs. Mabel Johnson passed away at age 99. She left a will made in 2015 in which she left her estate to two of her three...
View ArticleCourt is tough on trustee who failed to keep receipts. Really tough.
Today I'm referring you to an article written by David Freidman, a law professor in Ontario. The article appeared on the blog of the law firm of Wagner Sidlofsky. The article discusses the 2010 case of...
View ArticleRelying on luck is no way to make a solid estate decision
Whether or not to add the kids to the title to the parents' home is a question that many families will deal with. It is widely thought of as a way to avoid probate. I've seen articles suggesting that...
View ArticleCan a tenant-in-common sell his part of the property without even telling...
What if the co-owner of your property told you one day that he's no longer a co-owner because he had transferred his share to someone else? Would you be surprised? Concerned about who the new owner...
View ArticleA court will not generally appoint an administrator who has a potential...
I would venture to say that an awful lot of people who read this blog have had to deal with someone in the family moving into the home of the deceased parents. Sometimes it's the executor and sometimes...
View ArticleIf a house has a mortgage on the death of the owner, does the bank allow a...
A reader has asked a question about dealing with a mortgage on an estate property. Here is the question and my comments:"Just curious if a house has a mortgage upon death of the owner, does a typical...
View ArticleIf you receive a substantial RRSP can you still bring a claim for dependent's...
A reader raised a really interesting question recently so I decided to share it with all of you. Can you still claim dependent's relief when you received a substantial RRSP? Here is the question:"I...
View ArticleIf a murderer cannot inherit from the will of the person he kills, who gets...
Have you ever heard that if you are named in a will but you are convicted of murdering the testator, you cannot inherit from the will? In Canada, this is true. But if that happens, then who inherits...
View ArticleDoes a mother have an obligation to leave her deceased daughter's share of...
There are so many new, interesting cases these days that I can't possibly blog about all of them. However, this one caught my eye because it addresses an issue that I hear about pretty often. This is...
View ArticleAnother home-made will disaster: fight over the family home ends after 12 years
Once, a long time ago, a very smug person said to me that he had made his own will because he knew full well that lawyers only wanted people to make wills so lawyers can make more money. To that person...
View ArticleBankrupt beneficiary loses attempt to keep $1.1 million payable from a trust
Executors and beneficiaries alike have questions about how estates and bankrupt beneficiaries go together. Executors want to know what they are legally required to do with a share of an estate that is...
View ArticleUsing wills, probate, and death records to build your family tree.
Hey everyone, my latest book is out! Check it out if you are into genealogy or know someone who loves tracing their family tree. This one is unlike any other resource I've seen. It's all about using...
View ArticleDad's house was sold right before his death, leaving a beneficiary out of luck
This reader had quite a nasty surprise after her father passed away, and she raises a good question: what can be done after a person's death when the incident giving rise to the problem happened before...
View ArticleWhy can't Scholastic CEO leave his estate to his friend and not his sons?
In June 2021, the sudden death of Richard Robinson caused a shock to his two adult sons. The reason for the shock is that Mr. Robinson was the CEO of Scholastic Publishing and he left his entire share...
View ArticleHandwritten note found not to be valid, makes a difference of $1.4 million
After Eleena Violette Murray died in 2017, a note was found in her home that seemed to change the amounts given to beneficiaries in her will. The note made a difference: without the note, the SPCA...
View ArticleExecutor's pay: where emotion and greed meet money and opportunity
Lately I seem to have a lot of files in which beneficiaries are disputing the amount of remuneration claimed by the executors. There are a few reasons for the disputes, of course, but the main one...
View ArticleThere are plenty of ways to reduce estate taxes and troubles if you plan ahead
A recent article in the Financial Post offered numerous tips for minimizing tax as you pass your assets on to your children (or whoever you want to pass them to). Click here to read the article....
View ArticleTrying to derail an estate by sheer stubbornness doesn't get you what you...
This scenario with questions was posted recently by a reader. I decided to answer it in the form of a new post partly because there are a few separate issues to address. But the main reason I thought...
View ArticleStrange celebrity wills
People put all sorts of things in their wills, some of which make sense to other people and some of which do not. Click this link to see an article from Digital Trends about some strange celebrity wills.
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