by Mitchell Rattner When meeting with a lawyer to discuss estate planning, most often the client will consider the dispositions of his/her real property, personal possessions, business interests, and other investments. Proper consideration also needs to be given to the extent and nature of the client’s digital assets. Almost everyone has a digital presence, but every […]
by Mitchell Rattner Amendments to the Income Tax Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.)) (“ITA”), which came into effect on January 1, 2016, stipulate that the income and realized capital gains of testamentary trusts will now be taxed at the highest marginal rate (29%), but for two key exceptions. Exception #1: Graduated Rate Estate Graduated Rate Estate […]
by Robin Spurr A recent case reported in the news by CBC has brought up an issue we see far too often; individuals being taken advantage of because they lack capacity. In this particular case, a door-to-door sales company allegedly induced an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease to sign unfavourable contracts for heating/air-conditioning services locking her in for the […]
by Robin Spurr, Published: November 06, 2015 Scalia v. Scalia is a Court of Appeal decision, which provides guidance for Power of Attorney disputes, specifically the scope of the attorney for property’s authority with respect to joint assets, as well as the cost consequences for an unreasonable attorney for property. This was an appeal involving a dispute […]
by Jovan Cvejic, Published: March 06, 2015 We congratulate our friend and former colleague Susan Woodley on her judicial appointment to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. We are pleased to announce that Schnurr Kirsh Oelbaum Tator LLP will take over carriage of Susan’s Estate, Trust and Guardianship practice. We will have an additional office at […]
by Jovan Cvejic, Published: January 30, 2015 We are very excited to announce that Schnurr Kirsh Oelbaum Tator LLP has been named one of the Top 5 Boutique Wills, Trusts and Estates firms in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine! The list is compiled and voted on by lawyers across Canada. We are grateful to our peers […]
by Rob Levesque, Published: November 15, 2014 It can be comforting to think of the law as an objective system that produces consistent, predictable results. However, judges aren’t computers, and different judges can interpret the same facts and the same law in different ways, producing totally different outcomes. It can be particularly difficult to predict the […]
by Robin Spurr, Published: November 07, 2014 There has been a lot of buzz in the legal community recently about the case of Leibel v. Leibel (reported as Leibel v. Lewis), which was decided by the Honourable Justice Greer in August of this year. The reason for all the legal chatter is that this case clarified whether there is […]
by Robin Spurr, Published: October 03, 2014 Automatic vesting is often an illusory concept and almost always comes as a surprise to the lay estate trustee. The rule as set out in the Estates Administration Act (EAA) is that real property vests in the beneficiaries three years after the death of the testator. Vesting means taking ownership of […]
by Rob Levesque, Published: September 18, 2014 On September 16, 2014, Felice Kirsh gave a talk to a group of financial advisors at CIBC Wood Gundy titled “Keeping the Financial Advisor Out of Litigation”. Topics covered included taking instructions from clients; the importance of keeping a well-documented file; and ensuring that advice given is limited to […]