WRITING YOUR OWN WILL IS REFERRED TO AS A HOLOGRAPH WILL
Contrary to popular belief, an Ontario Will may be valid even if there are no witnesses to the Will.
If a Will is made entirely in the handwriting of the testator (person making the Will) and signed by that person, no witnesses are required to sign the Will. Such a Will is called a Holograph Will. Continue reading
HOW CAN I PAY FUNERAL EXPENSES?
When a person dies, unless they have prepaid for their funeral, this expense will have to be paid by the Estate Trustee or Executor. Often there are no funds available to pay the funeral expenses as the deceased person’s money is in bank accounts that have been frozen because of the death. Continue reading
SUCCESSION PLANNING IN FAMILY BUSINESSES CAN BECOME BOGGED DOWN BY EMOTIONAL ENTANGLEMENT
Family is the key word in Family Business. The emotional and historical ties that bind the family together can positively and negatively impact the viability of the Family Business. One of the most effective ways to mitigate the negative aspects of emotional family entanglement is to actively, enthusiastically and diligently engage in the process of succession planning.
Most businesses, family owned or not, appreciate that succession planning requires the involvement of outside advisors. Unfortunately, the tendency is to narrow the advisor support to lawyers, accountants and business consultants. All are essential in order to deal with the hard issues of business development, maintenance, and legacy, but most are ill-suited to address the “soft issues” that permeate family businesses. Continue reading
MORTGAGE PREPAYMENT PENALTIES
If you have a closed mortgage and you sell your property (or refinance it) you will be charged a prepayment penalty. The amount of the penalty will be determined by the terms of your mortgage. In Ontario it is common for the prepayment penalty to be the greater of the interest rate differential and three months’ interest. Continue reading
IT IS BECOMING MORE DIFFICULT TO USE A POA TO CLOSE A REAL ESTATE DEAL
People who are buying or selling a house may consider having a Power of Attorney so someone else can sign for them if they are not going to be around to sign the closing documents. The use of Powers of Attorney to close purchase, sale or mortgage transactions is becoming increasingly difficult. Continue reading
MOST ONTARIO FUNERAL HOMES WILL ALLOW YOU TO PRE-ARRANGE YOUR FUNERAL
You can also prepay your funeral but that is not necessary in order to pre-arrange your funeral. For more information click HERE.
Most people arranging funerals for loved ones have never done it before and the death of the loved one is generally unexpected. As a consequence, those arranging funerals for the recently deceased are ill equipped to make sensible decisions. Continue reading
MOST ONTARIO FUNERAL HOMES WILL ALLOW YOU TO PREPAY YOUR FUNERAL
Additionally you can pre-plan your funeral. For more information on this click HERE
The funeral prepayment does not go to the funeral home before your death. In Ontario, historically prepayments were held in GIC investments in trust for the customer. These days, prepaid funerals may be funded through a life insurance contract. Continue reading
13% ON THE REAL ESTATE COMMISSION WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE SELLING PRICE
If you are selling your home and using a real estate agent, you will be aware that you will have to pay commission on the sale price. Many sellers, however, are not aware that they also have to pay HST (13%) on the amount of the commission.
Be sure to budget for the HST on the real estate commission when you are selling your home. Continue reading
ESTATE ADMINISTRATION – ESTATE INVESTMENTS
An Estate Trustee (Executor) is required to be careful with estate investments. If the Last Will and Testament of the deceased person gives specific authority to make certain types of investments, an executor can make those investments. Otherwise, an executor should assume that they will be held liable by beneficiaries of an estate (even though they may not actually be liable) for any losses and invest conservatively. Continue reading
PREFERENTIAL SHARE OF MARRIED SPOUSE IF YOU DIE WITHOUT A WILL
(EVEN IF YOU HAVE BEEN SEPARATED, BUT NOT DIVORCED, FOR MANY YEARS)
On intestacy (dying without a Will) where the deceased was married at the time of their death (whether or not they are separated), the Succession Law Reform Act provides that the first $200,000.00 of the estate be paid to the deceased’s married spouse at the time of death. The rest of the estate is divided between the spouse and any surviving children of the deceased. If there are no surviving children the married spouse gets the entire estate.
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