Top 5 Reasons to Have a Lawyer Draft Your Estate Plan and Will

Deciding how you’re going to draft your estate plan and will? Canadians have more options now than ever. From doing it yourself, to consumer apps, to working with a lawyer, finding the right solution for you depending on your situation is incredibly important. After all, we’re talking about the documents that are going to make […]

Clarity is Everything

Drafting a will on your own can lead to some unintended results. This is what happened in the estate of Margaret G. Margaret had spent her life accumulating an estate worth $300,000. Over the years, Margaret made two wills as well as many subsequent changes to them. While she did use a lawyer at one […]

Do It Now Before It’s Too Late

How many of us intend to do any number of things, whether it is to lose weight, make a will or start saving for retirement and then never get around to it?! Unfortunately intention and action are not the same thing. This was aptly demonstrated in a recent decision of the Court of Appeal of […]

The Canada Pension Plan Survivors’ Benefits

The Canada Pension Plan Survivors’ Benefits If you are employed then you will be aware of the contributions you make to the Canada Pension Plan. These contributions will eventually provide you with a small pension for your retirement. However, what you may not know is that your contributions to CPP will also provide you and […]

Did You Know?

Did You Know? The Right of Survivorship When purchasing a home, most couples will take title as joint tenants. This means that both parties are equally owners of the whole property. What you might not realize is that the key aspect of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship. When one half of the couple […]

Make it Your New Year’s Resolution

Make it Your New Year’s Resolution The New Year is still a few weeks away so this is the perfect time to reflect on your resolutions for 2007. Make this the year that you make a will, a power of attorney for property and a power of attorney for personal care. And if you have […]

All I Need is A Simple Will…Or do I?

All I Need is A Simple Will…Or do I? A simple will may be all you need, but a little bit of complexity through the creative use of trusts can save your estate some money and give you peace of mind. Delayed Distribution Trust The most commonly used will trust is the “delayed distribution” trust […]

No Will! – Now What?

No Will! – Now What? Many people still do not have a will. Their reasons for not making this important document are many, including: “There’s lots of time”, “I really don’t need one since I don’t have much money” and “Everything just goes to my spouse anyway”. In fact, every adult should have a will. […]