By Michelle Fong It’s said that about 40% of Canadian marriages will end in divorce. So does that mean the other 60% remain happily attached until death? Probably not. It is not uncommon for people to separate and choose never to get divorced. In some cases, it’s because divorce is too costly. For others, the spouses may decide or be required to live in separate living accommodations (e.g., illness or age). In any case, that leaves a portion of married people who enter the dating scene with “it’s complicated” statuses. This article looks at the tax-deferred rollovers for when one of those peop ..read more

By Lydia Roseman Without a valid Will, after you pass, your estate will be considered “intestate”. This means that no one is entitled to manage or deal with your assets without permission of the Court, and legislation will determine who will inherit your belongings. This is not ideal for a number of reasons, as will be set out in detail below. Importantly, intestacy can create significant costs and challenges for family members who would normally expect to benefit under a Will, and will mean you have no control over the final disposition of your assets. Below we set out the circumstances that ..read more

 By Lydia Roseman One of the goals of estate planning is the management of assets while an individual is still alive but has lost the ability to manage their assets on their own (commonly referred to as losing capacity). We recommend coming up with a plan as to who will manage your assets, and how, long before capacity becomes an issue. Commonly, an individual getting close to this stage and wanting help managing their assets will simply add a child, or another trusted individual, as a joint owner of their assets. While this may seem like a simple solution, this strategy is rife with issu ..read more

By Michelle Fong and MaryAnne Loney Making a plan for the storm when the weather is still good is the fundamental basis of estate planning and business succession planning. It allows everyone involved to set out their intentions, have open and clear communications, and set a plan in place that they feel will allow their successors to succeed. One of the key tools used for this planning is a unanimous shareholders agreement (“USA”). Where estates and businesses intersect is often in the buy-sell options upon death and life insurance clauses in a USA. The buy-sell upon death clause typically req ..read more

By Moe Denny My parents have always harped about not moving in with a partner until we’re married. Recent changes to the Family Property Act (the “Act”), suggest they may have been on to something as long term dating may trigger entitlement to property. The Act, which replaced the Matrimonial Property Act, governs the division of property when a relationship breaks down and makes all property subject to “division” unless it is exempted by legislation or it is excluded by agreement.  The former Matrimonial Property Act applied only to “spouses”; however, the Act now applies to both “spouse ..read more

By Sarah Levine On June 18, 2020, the Government of Alberta introduced Bill 24, the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 (“Bill 24”). In our news release of May 27, 2020, we highlighted a concern that had arisen in the provisions of Ministerial Order 39/2020 (“M.O.”). The M.O. authorized the remote witnessing of Wills, Enduring Powers of Attorney, and Personal Directives in light of the COVID-19 pandemic where public health recommendations for social distancing placed significant restrictions of the ability of lawyers to meet with their clients to execute their estate plan ..read more

By Lydia Roseman, Student-at-Law This post seeks to answer the following questions: who must a personal representative[i]give notice to? When must notice be given? What must be included in that notice? There are a number of groups of people that may be entitled to notice before a personal representative distributes the assets of an estate. These notice requirements arise in a number of different pieces of Alberta legislation meaning it can be challenging to figure out exactly who you, as personal representative, must give notice to. Exactly who is entitled to notice, and what the notice loo ..read more

By Lydia Roseman, Student-at-Law and Michelle Fong While the proposed legislation states that the ALDA will be deemed to have come into effect on January 1, 2020, some industry professionals suspect that it will not come into force until next year. We will update this article once such legislation is enacted. Budget 2019 proposed a new type of annuity, the advanced life deferred annuity (ALDA), to provide greater flexibility to Canadians managing their retirement savings. When individuals contribute to registered plans, such as a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), the amounts contr ..read more

by Michelle Fong Being entrusted to be an Executor is an honour – it means that the deceased believes that you are the best suited person to manage and care for their estate. However, the position also comes with legal responsibilities and liabilities. The “job” of an Executor can last from a year or more, with or without contentious beneficiaries. The Executor has many duties. This article focuses the notable deadlines and timelines. The “Administering the Estate” timeline focuses on the Grant of Probate process (if there is no Will, it is called a Grant of Administration). The “Tax” timel ..read more

by Michelle Fong On May 15, 2020, Ministerial Order 39/2020 was issued that allows for electronic signing of estate planning documents under certain circumstances. Wills Formal Wills[1] can be signed by all parties separately if all the following criteria are met:       i.         An active Alberta lawyer must have been involved (legal advice and services) in regards to the Will, including the making, signing and witnessing of it; and      ii.         Witnesses and t ..read more