Wills & Estates
Capacity to Grant A Power Of Attorney
Fhara Pottinger August 21, 2008
Everyone should have Powers of Attorney. In the absence of Powers, the government may intervene to make financial or even personal care decisions for you. No one wants strangers managing their affairs. In addition, obtaining a court order of guardianship is slow and costly.
Serious health care decisions are best made under a Power of Attorney. Although the law creates a ranked list of substitute decision-makers for health care that keeps it in the family as much as possible, that order of priority does not respect ability or the actual relationships between the family members, merely...
Estate Planning For Business
Fhara Pottinger
January 8, 2008
If you are a business owner and operator, you know that decisions must be made on a daily basis to ensure the smooth and successful operation of your business. That is why, when you go on vacation, you plan for someone to make business decisions in your absence. However, not all absences are planned. Accident or illness can occur suddenly, without warning and make you incapable of making decisions for significant periods of time, weeks or even months. As a result, a Power of Attorney for Property is especially important for business operators.
Top 10 Reasons To (Re)Do Your Will
Deborah Humphreys
September 18, 2007
Who will take care of your family, investments or even your pets when you are gone? Who will arrange your funeral or memorial service? Do you want to be buried or cremated?
If you do not provide your own answers to these questions, a set of arbitrary government rules will decide for you. Most people prefer things done their way, yet less than half of all adult Canadians have a will.
Spring Cleaning...
Deborah Humphreys
May 3, 2006
Spring is here. As we do at home, we at Weilers get the urge to do a bit of spring cleaning. Many of our clients who have had wills prepared by our office have recently received letters reminding them to review their estate planning documents.
It is a very good idea to dust them off once in awhile and take the time to review what you have.
Creditors Are Out Of Luck
Paul Jasiura
February 09, 2005
On February 3, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to grant leave in a case called Amherst Crane Rentals Limited v. Perring, involving competing claims to RRSP benefits. As a result, the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in the case now stands as binding.
At the Court of Appeal, all three judges had agreed that the designated beneficiary of an RRSP was entitled to receive the benefits on the death of the owner, without those benefits being available to pay any creditors of the deceased owner.
There had been conflicting caselaw in different provinces on this point.
