ARE THEY AN APPROPRIATE ESTATE PLANNING TOOL FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT?

When purchasing a home, most buyers require a mortgage to finance the purchase. In the midst of all the paperwork and information a bank requires to approve a mortgage, they will often offer life insurance through the bank—insurance that promises to pay off the balance of the mortgage should something happen to you or any other person on the mortgage with you. The cost seems pretty reasonable, they only ask you a few questions on the application and the idea of insurance is reassuring—so should you go for it? [Read more…]

The decision to purchase or sell a home is not one that should be taken lightly. An Agreement of Purchase and Sale, the standard agreement entered into during a real estate transaction, is a legal and binding contract. Its terms can be subject to conditions that need to be met in order for the transaction to close, but it should not be interpreted as something that one can just “get out of” if they change their minds. [Read more…]

HOW MUCH AUTHORITY DO EXECUTOR’S REALLY HAVE?

The authority of an Executor or Estate Trustee comes from the wording of a Will (if there is one), the various Estate Administration Statutes and previous cases that have been decided by Courts.

Estate litigation is rampant in Ontario these days. A trend that seems to be developing is a perception by Executors that they have complete authority to make decisions in relation to the Estate regardless of what the Will says and regardless of what their other legal obligations are. [Read more…]

DISINHERITING …

When parents draft Wills they occasionally decide that one or more of their children should receive less than their other children. In some cases parents decide to leave nothing to one or more of their children.

There are many reasons for treating children differently when it comes to their inheritance: [Read more…]

ARE BANK ACCOUNTS PART OF THE ESTATE ASSETS?

It is not uncommon for parents to make their bank accounts joint with one or more of their children. This is particularly so when the parents are quite elderly.

When an account is owned jointly, it typically passes to the surviving account holders on the death of another account holder. In that case are the surviving joint account holders entitled to keep that money themselves or does it form part of the deceased account holder’s estate? [Read more…]

EQUALIZATION AFTER DEATH OF SPOUSE IS AN OPTION

A Spouse has options to ensure that they receive appropriate financial support from the Estate of their deceased Spouse.  When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse does not necessarily have to accept whatever the deceased spouse has left them in their Will, particularly if the amount appears unfair. [Read more…]