Donna Neff's Law Blog
January 24th, 2010
During 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 »
Posted in Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executor | No Comments »
January 14th, 2010
If 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 »
Posted in Avoiding Probate, Calculating Probate Fees, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts | No Comments »
January 7th, 2010
If 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.
Posted in Custodians of Children, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Guardians of Children, Minor Children, Young Children | No Comments »
December 18th, 2009
What 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”.
Posted in Avoiding Probate, Calculating Probate Fees, Estate Planning, Executor, Probate | No Comments »
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)
Posted in Holiday Greeting | No Comments »
November 24th, 2009
If you are the parent of a child under 18 (referred to as a ‘minor’), you may wonder what happens if your child inherits. There are a number of ways that a child may inherit:
- the child could be named as a beneficiary in a Will;
- the child could inherit from a relative who dies without a Will (referred to as ‘dying intestate’) if the child is one of the legal beneficiaries under the intestacy laws of Ontario; or,
- the child could be named as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or any other asset where a beneficiary can be named, such as a segregated fund, an RRSP/RRIF, or death benefit. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Guardians of Children, Minor Children, Uncategorized, Young Children | No Comments »
October 28th, 2009
Question
A few years ago while living in British Columbia, my mother signed a Power of Attorney in which she named me to look after her financial affairs if she could not do so. She recently moved to Ontario and then had a stroke. She is now mentally incapable. Her doctor says it is unlikely that she will recover her mental capacity. My mother’s care costs have gone up and her funds are running low. I need to cash in some of her investments to pay for her care but my mother’s bank refuses to recognize the Power of Attorney document that my mother signed in British Columbia. They say that since it was signed outside of Ontario, they do not consider it valid. What do I do?
Answer
If your mother was living in British Columbia at the time that she signed the Power of Attorney and if the signing of that document was carried out in a way that fully complied with the laws of British Columbia, it should be valid in Ontario as set out in section 85(1) of Ontario’ s Substitute Decisions Act. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Attorneys Acting under a Power of Attorney, Foreign property, Guardianship for an Adult, Paying Bills for Incapable Person | No Comments »
October 23rd, 2009
Part 2 of 2
Many parents, whether biological or adoptive, are surprised to learn that they do not have the right to name a permanent custodian of minor children. Ontario law gives the court a supervisory role over all custodian appointments and such appointments are based upon what the court considers to be the best interests of the child. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Custodians of Children, Estate Planning, Guardians of Children, Minor Children, Young Children | No Comments »
October 18th, 2009
This is Part 1 of a 2-part blog
Although not a subject many parents like to think about, parents of a minor child (under the age of 18) should consider who will look after their child if both parents die. This is a decision often debated and agonized over but, all too often, ignored. Hopefully, the information provided in this 2-part blog will help you make an informed decision and will encourage you to put that decision in writing. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Custodians of Children, Estate Planning, Guardians of Children, Minor Children, Wills in Foreign Jurisdiction, Young Children | No Comments »
October 9th, 2009
If you own a vacation or investment property outside Canada, review with your lawyer how best to ensure that costs and complications to your estate are minimized. Although many jurisdictions will recognize a Will drafted and signed in Canada, some will not. Even if the Will is recognized, the legal system of another jurisdiction may differ from Canada’s and could result in an unexpected distribution. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Foreign property, Foreign recreational property, Wills in Foreign Jurisdiction | 1 Comment »
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