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Estate Planning

Toronto Estate Law Blog

Provided by Hull & Hull.

Post Frequency: 10.9/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 08:48:24

The Test for Capacity Assessment

Posted on May 20, 2010
The Court has discretion to order a capacity assessment pursuant to section 79 of the Substitute Decisions Act, if the person's capacity is an issue in a proceeding under the SDA and it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person is incapable...

Knowledge Management & Intranets Assisting the Practice of Law

Posted on May 19, 2010
I recently attended a demonstration of a large firm's intranet with my Knowledge Management colleagues. 'KM' is a discipline that has emerged over the last several years that takes information management a step beyond the library. Knowledge is power as they say...

Fanconi Anemia

Posted on May 18, 2010
My colleagues and I recently attended the 10th Annual Fundraiser for Fanconi Canada, an inspiring event that raises money for Fanconi Anemia (FA), an inherited condition that leaves bone marrow unable to make new blood cells. 70 per cent of FA patients need a stem cell or bone marrow transplant...

Proprietary Estoppel - Hull on Estates #207

Posted on May 18, 2010
Listen to: Proprietary Estoppel – Hull on Estates #207 This week on Hull on Estate Rick Bickhram and Nadia Harasymowycz discuss proprietary estoppel, what it is and the three specific elements that are necessary to establish proprietary estoppel...

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Avoiding Trust Issues - Hull on Estates and Succession Planning #202

Posted on May 18, 2010
Listen to: Avoiding Trust Issues - Hull on Estates and Succession Planning #202 This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian discusses ways to avoid the trouble a trust creates by using insurance products. If you have any questions any comments, send us an email at hullandhulll@gmail...

Dementia and Driving: A Compatible Combination?

Posted on May 17, 2010
A conversation about driving with dementia exploded in the press in recent weeks. Everyone is weighing in on this debate, with potential stakes running obviously high. Certainly the decision to take away a patient's licence could never be undertaken lightly, so how can a physician accurately determine driving risks associated with dementia? A patient's score on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score, when considered on its own, is a surprisingly poor predictor of a driver's ability to drive safely...

Estate Planning and the HST

Posted on May 14, 2010
The pending implementation of the 13% HST will impact service providers and their clients, the legal profession being no exception. Paying for services before July 1, 2010 provides an opportunity to avoid the tax. Funerals are subject to the 5 per cent GST, but the HST will increase the cost of a typical funeral by some $500...

Testamentary Dispositions and Political Contributions

Posted on May 13, 2010
It is commonly understood that Canadian political parties are subject to rigorous rules respecting contributions. Failure to appreciate these rules presents a potential pitfall for the estates practitioner. Under s.405(1) of the Canada Elections Act, "No individual shall make contributions that exceed: (a) $1,000 in total in any calendar year to a particular registered party [and] (b) registered associations, nomination contestants and candidates of a particular registered party; (c) $1,000 in total to a candidate for a particular election who is not the candidate of a registered party; and (d) $1,000 in total to the leadership contestants in a particular leadership contest...

Joint GICs and the Presumption of Resulting Trust

Posted on May 12, 2010
Are joint GICs to be considered differently from other jointly held accounts when considering whether the proceeds of such accounts are subject to a presumption of resulting trust for the estate of the deceased account holder? Please read on. In Pecore v...

Tax Planning - Hull on Estates and Succession Planning # 201

Posted on May 11, 2010
Listen to: Tax Planning – Hull on Estates and Succession Planning # 201 This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian discusses tax planning and how tax issues are connected to estate planning. Ian focuses on four main issues of Canadian domestic tax planning...

Withdrawing Permission is Not Unconscionable

Posted on May 11, 2010
In the most recent issue of our firm's newsletter, The Probater (shortly to appear on our website), Suzana Popovic-Montag deals in depth with the issue of Proprietary Estoppel. As Suzana explains, this equitable remedy provides a useful alternative basis for the estates litigator to advance a claim against an estate but only in the presence of the right set of circumstances...

Rules - Hull on Estates #206

Posted on May 11, 2010
Listen to: Rules – Hull on Estates #206 This week on Hull on Estates, Sharon Davis and Craig Vander Zee discuss two rules which arise when a trustee mixes trust funds with personal assets and when a trustee mixes assets from one trust with one or more trusts...

No Time for a Doctor? There's an App for That.

Posted on May 10, 2010
One of my first blogs (now colloquially referred to as the ‘thumb blog of 2008') delved into the subject of cyberchondria, which was defined in the Globe and Mail as 'hypochondria on metaphorical steroids, its effects amplified by the staggering number of disastrous outcomes the Web can provide'...

"Dead Weight" or "Dead Air" - not sure which play on words is more apt in this case...

Posted on May 07, 2010
The Sunday Times recently reported that two women were arrested for trying to push a dead relative strapped to a wheelchair onto a flight leaving out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The charge - suspicion of failing to give notification of a death...

Delays in Obtaining Probate for Non-Resident Applicants - A Way Out?

Posted on May 06, 2010
The Honourable Justice Brown has in recent months released several Endorsements that appear to be achieving the objective of assisting counsel and the Toronto Region Estates Office by clarifying and streamlining procedural requirements in certain estate matters...

American Legal Shows and their Influence on the Canadian Public

Posted on May 05, 2010
Growing up, I used to watch Perry Mason television movies and dreamed of becoming a top litigator, regularly eliciting confessions from the ‘real criminal' during courtroom trials full of intrigue and suspense. As a law student and then practicing litigator, I quickly learned that there is a world of difference between trials and the legal system as depicted on (usually) American television, and the daily workings of the Canadian legal system...

A Touch of Common Sense: Re Estate of Daniel O'Donnell

Posted on May 04, 2010
In Re Estate of Michael O'Flynn, 2009 CanLII 57149 (ON S.C.), the Honourable Justice Brown encouraged the development of a culture of common sense in processing applications for certificates of appointment of estate trustee. This approach is further illustrated in the recent decision in Re Estate of Daniel O'Donnell, 2010...

Dinner with the Honorable Estates List Judges- Hull on Estates #205

Posted on May 04, 2010
Listen to: Dinner with the Honorable Estates List Judges- Hull on Estates #205 This week on Hull on Estates Paul Trudelle and Natalia Angelini discuss their attendance at the Dinner with the Honorable Estates List Judges hosted by the OBA on Tuesday, April 27, 2010...

Cognitive Screening Tools

Posted on May 03, 2010
In the course of reviewing medical records in advance of estate litigation, one will encounter a wide variety of cognitive screening tools used to identify cognitive impairment. A handful of these tools are described here: • Confusion Assessment Method (CAM): an ICU assessment tool used to detect the presence or absence of delirium...

Paddle the Don

Posted on April 30, 2010
Hull and Hull LLP is the proud sponsor of a corporate team in this years' Paddle the Don event. This annual event, put on by Toronto and Region Conservation, allows canoeists to paddle down the Don River, from Eglinton to the mouth of Lake Ontario. In addition to allowing us to enjoy a day in nature within the city, the event serves as a fundraiser for Don River regeneration projects...

World Burning Down? Remember the Prudent Investor Rule

Posted on April 29, 2010
The past two years saw Wall Street virtually melt down. The global economy coughed and sputtered, trade was disrupted, general panic ensued. Now it appears that a group of significant countries may default on their respective debts, starting with Greece, then Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal (the "PIIGS")...

Alleging Fraud and Breach of Trust: Need for Particulars

Posted on April 27, 2010
Billionaire and recently deceased American shopping mall developer Melvin Simon's heirs are fighting over his last will. Mr. Simon's children from his first marriage are challenging a will that changed the distribution of his estate in favour of his second wife...

Capacity Litigators Beware: DSM-IV to be Revised

Posted on April 27, 2010
A fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders (known as the "DSM-IV") is imminent, according to the chair of the task force responsible for the fourth edition, Dr. Allen Frances, quoted in the National Post. The DSM-IV is considered defines and classifies all mental illnesses...

"Pre-taking" Compensation by Property Guardians: Plan Ahead

Posted on April 26, 2010
Trustees often run into difficulties when they pay themselves compensation prior to passing their accounts. They are said to have "pre-taken" compensation, meaning having paid themselves compensation prior to passing their accounts. Fortunately for guardians of property (and attorneys), section 40 of Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act allows guardians to pay themselves compensation at intervals during the guardianship before passing their accounts: 40...

Shakespeare's Will

Posted on April 23, 2010
'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers'. Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78 Presumably Shakespeare did not feel this way about his own lawyer, Francis Collins, who drew his Last Will and Testament. Today is the anniversary of the birth and the death of William Shakespeare, revered poet and renown playwright of Stratford-on-Avon, England...

Estates & Trusts Spring Events

Posted on April 22, 2010
Spring is a time for conferences and events. Here are a few upcoming Estates and Trusts programs you might be interested in. The Ontario Bar Association is having its annual Dinner with the Honourable Estates List Judges on Tuesday, April 27th at 6:00 p...

Probate of a Quebec Notarial Will in Ontario

Posted on April 21, 2010
In Quebec, while formal and holograph wills are recognized, there is also a third kind of will called a notarial will, which involves more formalities than the other two. A notarial will is a will drawn by a notary, who ensures the formalities in articles 716 and 717 of the Civil Code of Quebec are observed...

On Blogging and Lawyers (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on April 20, 2010
Yesterday I blogged about the usefulness of blogs for lawyers. Today I will provide some specifics and recommend a few blogs to you. The advantage of blogs as a publishing vehicle is the access to information in real time. The latest news and topics are always available and you can get your own information out to the legal community and to potential clients without having to wait for the printing press...

On Blogging and Lawyers (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on April 19, 2010
Blogging has certainly become popular in the last several years as an important source of information and communication. So much so that even lawyers have jumped on the bandwagon. And who would have thought? Being the risk-averse creatures we are, you would not expect publishing our musings for the world to read to be a natural fit; after all, law school is spent teaching you how to avoid risk or, perhaps, how to remedy the consequences of risks taken by your clients...

Digital Assets and Estate Planning

Posted on April 16, 2010
Estate planners now have yet another issue to address: how to deal with a testator's digital assets. The term "digital assets" (wikipedia entry) general refers to email, social media, and other online accounts, protected by a password and right to use a specific account...

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