Household goods can hold tremendous sentimental value as well as monetary value. It is important that they are properly dealt with. I recently met with Charles (not his real name) at my law office in Stittsville near Ottawa. His elderly sister had died while visiting him in Stittsville.  Charles knew that she never signed a Will.  She was single and never had any children.  Charles also had a brother who was estranged from the family and had been for quite some time.  There were no other living relatives.  Charles’ sister lived alone in a house in the west end of Ottawa.

What can and should I do with my loved one’s household goods?

Charles understood that, if his brother agreed, he could apply to court to be appointed the estate trustee without a Will (executor).  Until that happened, Charles had a couple of questions about the contents of his sister’s house:

“Do I need to take inventory of the contents of the home and have these items appraised for the purpose of providing a value for the court application?” Read the rest of this entry »

At my law office in Stittsville (Ottawa), the executors I meet with often have questions about how to deal with advancements or loans given by the deceased during his or her lifetime.

Here is an example:

An executor is preparing to distribute an estate totally $850,000 after debts and liabilities are paid.  The deceased, Bernice, had three daughters who, according to Bernice’s Will, are to share the estate equally.  However, her Will included a clause confirming that Bernice had advanced $50,000 to one daughter during her lifetime and that this amount was to be deducted from the daughter’s share of Bernice’s estate.

How does the executor calculate what each daughter is to receive? Read the rest of this entry »

I recently met with Janice (not her real name) at my law office in Stittsville near Ottawa, Ontario. Janice had been appointed as executor of her uncle’s estate. She had been told by a friend that she could be paid for acting as an executor. Her uncle’s Will made no mention of executor compensation so Janice wasn’t sure whether she could be paid and, if so, how much. Read the rest of this entry »