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When Can A Court Delete Or Add Words To A Will?

Unfortunately, from time to time, errors are made in making a will, the implications of which leave much uncertainty as to the disposition of an estate.  While the interests of beneficiaries and other stakeholders hang in the balance, courts are often asked to determine how a will should be interpreted and what, if anything, should […]

Estate Representation for Tribunal Cases

The application process to be formally appointed as an estate trustee can be complicated and take as long as several months to be granted.  It can also be expensive due to the applicable estate administration tax which is based upon a formula that essentially works out to a percentage of the value of the assets […]

Can Estate Debt Cancel RRSP Designations?

From time to time, the assets of an estate are not enough to pay all debts of the estate.  Therefore, a body of law has developed to determine such issues as where creditors may look for payment after the debtor’s death, the ranking of creditor claims and the division of insolvent estates’ assets amongst beneficiaries […]

The Importance of Estate Liquidity

It has been said that there are two certainties in life—death and taxes.  Unfortunately, there are many more uncertainties about what the future holds which can impact one`s estate plan—even if your estate plan is to have no estate plan!  The cases demonstrating the value of having cash on hand for payment of estate expenses […]

Do You Have To Act As Estate Trustee?

In preparing a will or estate plan for a client, I often recommend that they ask the person(s) they propose to appoint as estate trustee (executor) in their will whether they would be willing to perform such role.  It is not uncommon to have those appointed to this role decline at the relevant time for […]

When Can An Estate Trustee Take Compensation?

An Estate Trustee is entitled to a fair and reasonable allowance for his care, pains and trouble and time expended for the performance of estate trustee’s work.  In determining when to take compensation from estate assets, an estate trustee can either look to the will, if any, or seek to have the accounting record of […]