Follow my blog via RSS As a wills and estates lawyer, I often meet with elderly or hospitalized clients in their residence or hospital room. When I meet clients at my office, it is a simple matter to use our office equipment to scan documents such as deeds, birth certificates, financial statements, and insurance policies which we ask clients to bring. However, when visiting clients outside of the office I have to ask if the client will allow me to take documents away for scanning at the office — not something that either I or the client really want to happen. Read the rest of this entry »
Donna Neff's Law Blog
Scanning Solution for the Mobile Lawyer – Neat!
March 1st, 2010
Protecting My Child’s Inheritance – Understanding How Trusts Can Help (Part 1)
March 1st, 2010The world of trusts is fascinating, if not somewhat enigmatic. Trusts, in general, are an important part of estate planning because of the beneficial tax treatment of testamentary (arising as the result of a death) trusts. However, trusts are used by parents and others for a variety of specific purposes besides tax planning. Over the next few weeks, I will offer a brief introduction to some of the ways that trusts are used to protect a child’s inheritance. Read the rest of this entry »
Valentine’s Day. Thinking about loved ones? Want to really show them you care?
February 14th, 2010Although getting a Will done ranks right alongside a trip to the dentist, having an up-to-date Will is an expression of caring that can ease the sorrow of your passing. Dying without a Will leaves your grieving loved ones puzzling over why you didn’t care enough to get it done and wondering how to deal with the resulting chaos.
For some of us with few assets and if no one is expecting to have access to our assets, Ontario’s intestacy laws (how an estate is distributed upon death if there is no Will) may be enough. For example, if a married person dies without kids and having most assets jointly-held with his or her spouse, the surviving married spouse gets it all. If the deceased was single and never had kids, his or her parents share the estate. However, having died without a Will means that it will take longer to access the assets and settling the estate will require more time and money.
The distribution dictated by Ontario’s intestacy laws is, in our experience, rarely what people expect and may come as a bit of a surprise. For example, Chris’ marriage ended three years ago but no separation agreement was ever signed. Read the rest of this entry »
Our Website Wins an Award!
February 11th, 2010We are pleased to learn that our website was selected as the winner in the Small Firm/Solo category for Canadian law firms (an honour shared with Hyndman Law of Toronto). The announcement appeared in the December 2009 edition of the National, a magazine published by the Canadian Bar Association. A slate of Canada’s top legal technology experts selected law firm websites in each of ten categories. As one of the judge’s explains, “Neff Law Office (Professional Corporation) is a great small firm site that is warm and inviting to personal, not corporate clients. The site makes you want to meet with Donna Neff and give her your business.” Follow this link to see the full article: www.tinyurl.com/ydjk5lq
Thank you, CBA! We are honoured to have our website recognized in this way.
Feeling Good – Charitable Gifting by Will
February 5th, 2010With Valentine’s Day approaching, we thought it appropriate to turn our attention to charitable giving. Whether you want to honour a favourite charity, remember a loved one or a special time in your life or simply reduce taxes, charitable giving should be considered as part of your estate planning.
When naming a charity as a beneficiary in a Will, most specify a cash gift (referred to as a ‘legacy’) of a certain dollar amount or the donation of an item of value such as artwork or securities (referred to as a ‘bequest’). From a tax standpoint, a gift in a Will is generally deemed to have been made immediately before the date of death. As a result, a tax credit can be claimed on the final tax return. A tax credit is a deduction in computing tax which would otherwise be payable. Read the rest of this entry »
An Estate with no Executor?
January 24th, 2010During the estate planning process, many important decisions must be made. Although most people focus on who will get their estate, another important decision is who to appoint as executor (also referred to in Ontario as an ‘estate trustee’). Both a primary (your first choice) and one or more alternate executors should be named in case the first choice is unable to do the job. A recent and interesting article by Susan Hughes, entitled “No executor required” published in the November/December 2009 issue of the Canadian Lawyer, shows just how important this choice can be.
Hughes reviews a recent Ontario case, Evans v. Gondor, in which a most interesting situation arose. At their request, the court removed the executors who had been named in the deceased’s Will. The executors, the deceased’s sister and brother-in-law, no longer wished to act and there was no replacement named. This left the estate without an executor. Read the rest of this entry »
Avoiding Probate Fees on Insurance Proceeds
January 14th, 2010If the deceased named a beneficiary on a life insurance policy on the deceased’s life, the surviving beneficiary receives the proceeds directly. The insurance proceeds are not included in the value of the estate for purposes of calculating probate fees. However, if the beneficiary has predeceased and no contingent beneficiary has been named, the insurance proceeds are payable to the estate and are included in the value of the estate for probate purposes. Read the rest of this entry »
When a Child Inherits (Part 2 of 2)
January 7th, 2010If there is no trust in the Will, an executor may wish to pay the child’s inheritance into Court. By doing so, the executor is discharged from further responsibility to the extent of the amount paid into Court. The executor does not need to monitor the Court’s handling of the money, how it is invested, or keep any further records.
When a minor child is left an inheritance, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) may become involved. An office within the Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario, the OCL’s mandate is to represent personal and property rights of minors and unborn children, including estate and trust matters.
Parents may also be surprised to learn that when a child reaches the age of 18, he or she can demand that the inheritance be handed over to him or her if the inheritance is not being held in a trust. The child can also demand a full accounting of all transactions affecting the inheritance unless previously approved by the Court.
A parent (or other person leaving a gift to a child) who wishes to defer payment of the child’s inheritance beyond the age of 18 can include a trust in his or her Will. In a trust, the parent can specify that partial payments of the inheritance are to be made at various ages with income (what the trust assets earn) being paid out regularly.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Probate
December 18th, 2009What Is Probate?
Probate is the process of legally establishing the validity of a will. As a result, the Court confirms the appointment of an Estate Trustee (or Executor). The Estate Trustee administers and distributes the estate of the deceased person. An Estate Trustee may be appointed with or without a Will. If there is a Will, the Court issues a Certificate of Estate Trustee with a Will. If there is no Will, the Court issues a Certificate of Estate Trustee Without a Will and the estate is distributed according to Ontario’s intestacy laws. When a person dies without a Will, they are said to have died “intestate”.
When Is Probate Needed? Read the rest of this entry »
Season’s Greetings From Our Team
December 14th, 2009
From all of us at Neff Law Office Professional Corporation, we wish you a joyful holiday with family and friends. May your New Year be the best ever!
Lorelei, Carly, Mia, Lynn, Lisa, Natalie, Donna (and Daisy)