Marriage will no longer revoke a Will!
May 7th, 2021 | Estate Planning
A new law in Ontario will bring some important changes for Wills and Estates. Bill 245 has received Royal Assent but will not come into force until at least January 1, 2022. The new law will make several substantial changes affecting Wills and Estates, including repealing the longstanding rule in the Succession Law Reform Act […]
Read moreThe steps to buying a house in Thunder Bay:
April 19th, 2021 | Real Estate
Your Thunder Bay real estate lawyer can guide you through all stages of your home purchase: Advise you about your Offer, to make sure your interests are protected; Review the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and explain the “legalese”; Check for any claims registered against the property; Explain Title Insurance and arrange for a policy […]
Read moreWhy homebuyers in Thunder Bay should speak to a Real Estate lawyer
April 14th, 2021 | Real Estate
When you find the Thunder Bay house you want, things will seem to move fast—but don’t put off getting in touch with a real estate lawyer. Your home is your biggest investment, and you want to make sure your deal is legally sound. As a homebuyer in Thunder Bay, one of your key decisions is […]
Read moreIf I say I’ve moved to California and make a new Will there, who’s going to argue?
February 8th, 2021 | Estate Planning
Johnny Hallyday’s Story Johnny Hallyday might be the biggest pop star you’ve never heard of. Over the course of a long career based in France, he sold more than 110 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling singers of all time. He was credited with bringing rock and roll to France and was called the French Elvis. However, starting in 2007, […]
Read moreMy eldest child will be offended if I don’t name him as my Attorney in my Power of Attorney for Property
February 1st, 2021 | Estate Planning
Brooke Astor’s Story New York socialite Brooke Astor gave her son Anthony Marshall a Power of Attorney over her financial affairs. Unfortunately, he was untrustworthy. In October 2009, Anthony was convicted of fraud and grand larceny relating to his handling of his late mother’s estate. Among other things, he had given himself a retroactive $1 […]
Read moreI’m healthy, so I don’t understand why I should make a Power of Attorney for Property
January 25th, 2021 | Estate Planning
Etta James’s Story R&B singer Etta James won six Grammy Awards during her career. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2008. That same year, she signed a Power of Attorney appointing her son Donto James to look after her property. Not surprisingly, her current husband, Artis Mills, challenged the Power of Attorney on the basis that she was […]
Read moreI’m afraid my children will say I was incompetent when I made my Will
January 18th, 2021 | Estate Planning
Leona Helmsley’s Story Real estate tycoon Leona Helmsley, who served time in jail for tax evasion, was referred to in the tabloids as The Queen of Mean. When she died in 2007 at the age of 87, she left an estate worth billions. Her closest surviving relatives were her four grandchildren. For reasons she did not explain, […]
Read moreWhy should I leave my Will at my lawyer’s? I prefer to keep it at home in my sock drawer
January 11th, 2021 | Estate Planning
FloJo’s Story Olympic sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner—better known as FloJo— set world records in 1988 in both the 100-metre and 200-metre events. Sadly, she died ten years later at the age of only 38. Her family believed she had made a will, but they couldn’t track it down. Years of legal battles followed as Joyner’s husband and her mother couldn’t agree on whether FloJo had […]
Read moreMy employer promised to leave me a house but forgot to put it in his will!
January 4th, 2021 | Estate Planning
Marlon Brando’s Story Marlon Brando was one of the most admired—and unconventional—actors of all time. In 1973 he rejected his Academy Award for Best Actor for The Godfather to protest the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry. When he died in 2004 at the age of 80, his long-time housekeeper Angela Borlaza came forward […]
Read moreWho should I name as my Executor?
December 28th, 2020 | Estate Planning
Doris Duke’s Story Doris Duke was a tobacco heiress, socialite and philanthropist who had a colourful personal life. In 1987, when she was 75 years old, she hired Bernard Lafferty as her personal butler, and Lafferty soon became her companion and closest confidant, although there does not seem to have been a romantic relationship. She made […]
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