Taxes are always confusing. Tax laws change daily. How are you going to stay on top of all this? You must rely on professionals to give you proper advice. Paying taxes can eat up your estate’s assets and destroy your dreams for your family. You can, however,…
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Start By Creating an Inventory of What You Own You can do this by drawing a circle on a piece of paper. Everything you own fits into this circle. I call this your estate pie. The three slices in your estate pie are your Will Assets, your…
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Question: As executor of a parent’s estate, do you need insurance to protect you? James Daw’s Toronto Star article at moneyville.ca suggests one answer is ERAssure.com. I’ll give you more info to consider. But you must check out this company’s site. It’s a marketer’s dream. Study it…
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The other day, a client asked my advice about challenging a will. Her relative, let’s say it was an Uncle Fernando, had died 3 years ago without a spouse or children. Fernando had told everyone what was in his will: “I’m going to divide things equally among…
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Any breach of executor’s duty can result in a charge of misconduct against them. Here’s a short list to remind you of possible executor breaches of fiduciary duty: • financial negligence handling estate assets causing loss • failure to properly invest estate assets • failure to complete…
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Estate planning is confusing and many people want to avoid lawyers. Many advisors fall into a trap of trying to oblige the client. This can lead to several weaknesses in estate planning, which I’ll explain. Estate planners, unlike lawyers, cannot tell you what to do when…
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Here’s an interesting short video to find the answer. Watch IE.TV with Steve Krupicz, an actuarial consultant with Manulife Financial Corporation. He describes the new actuarial tables on life expectancy increasing by 1.7 years. It’s recorded by Investment Executive, at this link. Krupicz uses an example of…
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By meeting privately, Alex’s lawyer can also investigate if there has been any financial, emotional or physical abuse of the father. Alex may be reluctant to discuss such matters with a relative in the room. For the elderly, a visit to a lawyer can make a difference….
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Lawyers have a duty to assess Jeremy’s father’s competency to make a will. This is a legal and ethical responsibility that lawyers have, especially in dealing with the elderly. Lawyers must be prepared to testify in court, if necessary, to defend the wills they prepare. This means…
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Most lawyers will explain to Alex, Jeremy’s father, why his son must wait in reception. Alex’s lawyer must meet with Alex alone so all information remains confidential. Alex must be free to ask questions about his intentions and options without anyone else in the room. The lawyer…
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