According to wikiHow’s “How to Write a Love Letter” by Crista Beck, prepare to write a love letter by setting the mood: going somewhere private to reflect on your feelings, think about the person you love, use memories to guide you, think about the future and consider if it was your last day on earth. Coincidentally, these are all things you do to prepare in anticipation of writing your Will. Regardless of whether you write your own Will or have someone draft it for you, the exact same method of preparing to write a love letter is used to write a Will. You think about those you love, using me ..read more

Over the past three years, most people have come to realize an inalienable truth: that life will eventually come to an end for each and every one of us. Covid 19 taught us that the world can change in an instant. Not unlike the instant change that losing a loved one can have on the lives of those around them. Thankfully, most of the world has now returned to a semblance of what it was pre-pandemic and instead of focusing on immediate survival, people now have time to prepare for and focus on the future. There has never been a better time to plan for the future, or better yet, create a conting ..read more

Many people think that a Will, Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive documents should be stored in a safety deposit box in a bank somewhere. But this mentality if flawed. The reason it is flawed is because typically only the registered names on a safety deposit box can access the contents of that box. If you are named as the Attorney in a person’s Enduring Power of Attorney, but you are not registered on the safety deposit box, and the original Enduring Power of Attorney documents are inside that box, you do not have authority to gain access to retrieve them without showing Proof ..read more

You should review your Will, Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive documentation the sooner of every five (5) years or after every major life event. This review does not mean you need to make any changes to the documents, it just means that you have reviewed the documents and conclude that your wishes have not changed. In the event they have, then you know it is time to update your documents. The following are examples of "major life events": You change your name or anyone mentioned in your Will, Enduring Power of Attorney and/or Personal Directive changes theirs; An Executor (na ..read more

The ink has just dried on your freshly signed Will, Enduring Power or Attorney and/or Personal Directive, now what? Well, if you haven’t read our Blog on Storing Your Estate Planning Documents, you should do so and make sure that you find a proper place for storage. The next thing you should do is write down the various online accounts and passwords for those accounts and store them along with your estate planning documents. I say write them down, because using a vault app on your phone might be a challenge for your Executor (in your Will) or your Attorney (in your Continuing/Enduring Power o ..read more

Many provinces and territories in Canada have wills and succession legislation that specify that any Personal Representatives* appointed in a Will who do not reside in the Testator’s jurisdiction (meaning a 'foreign executor") must post a performance bond with the Surrogate Court. What does a "Testator's jurisdiction" mean? Well, it means the province or territory where the maker of the Will (the Testator) lives. What is a "performance bond"? A performance bond is insurance to the court that the Personal Representative won’t flee the deceased’s jurisdiction with the estate assets and dupe the ..read more

Your Attorney appointed in your Enduring Power of Attorney (also known as a Continuing Power of Attorney in Ontario) has a number of duties. Caselaw and legislation impose a number of rules and duties on your Attorney. Among them, most notably: Your Attorney is a fiduciary and has a duty to represent your interests and never place his/her own interests above yours. Ie. your Attorney cannot use your assets for his/her own benefit or the benefit of any third parties to your detriment. Your Attorney must make decisions on your behalf that a reasonably prudent person would make, meaning: your At ..read more

So you are wondering if you should make an Enduring Power of Attorney, but don’t know where to start. To begin such a journey, you need to first understand what an Enduring Power of Attorney is. An Enduring Power of Attorney (also known as a Continuing Power of Attorney in Ontario) is a legal document that takes affect when you are alive, but lack mental capacity. The document allows you (also known as the Donor/Grantor) to appoint a person/persons to handle your financial matters when you are unable to do so. Each province and territory in Canada have legislation permitting and recognizing t ..read more

Contrary to what you may think, your Will does not govern all of your property when you die. For the sake of estate planning, there are three types of property: Jointly owned property; Beneficially designated property; and Everything else (also known as Estate Assets). Jointly owned property (sometimes called joint tenancy) is property that you own jointly with one or more other persons. The most common example of joint property is a husband and wife owning a joint bank account or a house together. In law, each joint owner owns 100% of the entire property. In other words, each owner has an ..read more

Many people think of age as being the primary factor in selecting a Executor. But it is not the only one. Here are six factors to consider when selecting a person to act as your Executor: 1. Marriage: If you are legally married or in a common law relationship where you have had children together or are in a common law relationship where you and your partner have co-mingled assets, your first choice for Executor is typically your spouse or common law partner. This choice is predicated on the fact that your spouse or partner is not mentally incapacitated by reason of injury, illness or disease ..read more