The Importance of Powers of Attorney
April 8, 2025 By Mark Mikulasik What Is a Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney is a crucial legal tool that ensures your affairs are managed according to your wishes if you become incapacitated or are unavailable. Taking the time to create a POA now can save your loved ones significant stress and legal […]
Variation of Trusts
April 1, 2025 By Mark Mikulasik Having recently posted an article about termination of trusts, we now consider the situation where you want the trust to continue, but some of the terms are no longer appropriate, because circumstances have changed. This may be a change in tax rules, or circumstances of beneficiaries changing from those […]
Termination of Trusts
March 27, 2025 By Mark Mikulasik How does a trust come to an end? There are several possible ways: The settlor may retain an express power to revoke the trust, but absent that the settlor cannot reclaim any of the trust property. A power of revocation must be clearly and expressly reserved at the time […]
If You Die Without A Will
March 20, 2025 By Mark Mikulasik Having a will is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. However, many Ontarians die without a will in place. Dying without a will in Ontario can create unnecessary stress and financial burden for your loved […]
Why Get A Lawyer To Draft Your Will
November 21, 2024 By Mark Mikulasik November is Make-A -Will Month. This is a promotion by the Ontario Bar Association, yet this month, television seems to be swamped with commercials for an online will service. The one that talks about “the hassle and cost of a lawyer”. So why would you bother consulting a lawyer […]
Inadequate Provision For Dependents In Your Will
October 24, 2024 By Brian Babcock By its very name, a will is supposed to reflect the desires of the testator- the person whose will it is. This discretion to leave your assets to whoever you wish is not unlimited. In Ontario, two laws limit your ability to write the will you want. Under the […]
Who Gets The Dog Part 2
September 24, 2024 By Brian Babcock We posted an article recently highlighting the issue of the risk of battles over dog ownership, focused on the case of Carvalho v. Verma, a particularly hard-fought battle. How hard fought? The court has now considered the costs of this application. Noteworthy is the fact that the two sides […]
Interpreting Wills: The “Armchair” Approach
May 28, 2024 By Mark Mikulasik Have you ever wondered how a court interprets a will when people disagree about the meaning? THE CASES The principles are described in the Ontario Superior Court decision of Mohapel v. Young. The objective is that: When interpreting a will, the court’s task is to determine the testator’s actual […]
Trustee Compensation and Legal Fees
May 28, 2024 By Nick Melchiorre Trustees , including estate trustees, are entitled to compensation for their efforts. But how much? The lawyers for the trustees (or for the estate) are entitled to payment. But how much? What if the same person acts as trustee and lawyer? How are they compensated? The ultimate decision is […]
Who Gets The Dog?
May 23, 2024 By Brian Babcock Many of us love our pets. But in law, they are possessions like any other personal property. In the case of family breakdown, or the death of a partner or spouse, ownership was the determination of who gets the pet. THE ISSUE Sometimes ownership is not clear or was […]