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How the ‘Hotchpot Clause’ Lost its Groove: the marriage settlement trust and myth of women’s legal disabilities

What is Hotchpot? In estates law, “hotchpot” is a legal term of art.[1] It is an umbrella term that covers a few related concepts (e.g., a hotchpot clause, common law presumptions of hotchpot, intestacy legislation on the same). In essence, the purpose of hotchpot is to prevent one beneficiary from receiving more his intended share. It does so by taking into account of all prior advances and testamentary gifts. For….

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Estate Planning, Interest, Uncategorized, Wills

Joint accounts – continued

Several years ago, I wrote about probate planning involving the use of joint accounts. At the time, my father-in-law had just passed away and my mother-in-law, who survived him, was intent on paying the least amount of Estate Administration Tax (EAT). Jointly held property with a spouse or with one or more children, with a right of survivorship may not form part of the deceased’s estate and may be effective….

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Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Family Conflict, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Probate Tax, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Multiple Wills – More than just business owners

This blog was written by Justin Ecclestone, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management The Multiple Wills strategy in Ontario often comes to mind when providing estate planning advice to successful business owners with private company shares. When speaking with business owners the benefit of the strategy is quite clear – save probate fees. It is important not to overlook this strategy for those without a business as it….

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Some Ins and Outs of RRSPs & RRIFs Transfers on Death

Generally the RRSP or RRIF of a deceased can be transferred by specific bequest under the terms of the deceased’s will to a qualifying survivor tax-free. A qualifying survivor would be the deceased annuitant spouse or common-law partner or a financially dependent child or grandchild. When payments from a deceased annuitant’s RRSP are paid to the annuitant’s estate and a qualifying survivor is a beneficiary of  the estate, the deceased….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, Investments, Property, RRSP, Tax Issues, Uncategorized, Wills

Bill 245: Innovative Updates to the Succession Law Reform Act

Dear readers, As you might recall, last April (of 2020) was the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. As part of our government’s efforts to keep Ontarians safe while still allowing access to justice, an emergency order was brought at that time to allow virtual witnessing of powers of attorney and wills. These changes were brought on a temporary basis, with the tock-down measures imposed….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, In the News, Interest, Uncategorized

Estate Planning for the Digital Collector: Don’t let your NFTs disappear into Ether

This blog was written by Raluca Gondor   Digital artwork and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are gaining significant traction as part of a new era of collectibles, with a growing number of creators putting out exclusive digital content. The ten-year anniversary version of the Nyan Cat meme, Nike’s Cryptokicks, and a Tweet about Fyre Festival’s infamous cheese sandwich are just a few NFTs that have hit the market in recent months…..

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