HullandHull.com Wins an Award - Hull on Estates and Succession Planning #190
Listen to: HullandHull.com Wins an Award - Hull on Estates and Succession Planning #190
This week on Hull on Estates and Succession Planning, Ian Hull and Suzana Popovic-Montag announce that HullandHull.com won an award for Best Multi-Media Website for Lawyers, awarded by the Canadian Bar Association magazine.
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Ian M. Hull - Click here for more information about Ian Hull.
Suzana Popovic-Montag - Click here for more information about Suzana Popovic-Montag.
HullandHull.com Wins an Award -
Welcome to
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Hi and welcome to
Ian Hull: Welcome Suzana.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Hi there Ian. How are you today?
Ian Hull: I’m just fine, thank you.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: That’s good.
Ian Hull: Happy to be podcasting. We’re a little behind schedule this week. It’s been a bit of a tough week. My Dad passed away on the weekend so we’re sort of running around getting things organized. But it was time and he’s in a better place, that’s for sure.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Absolutely.
Ian Hull: So that’s been a bit of a crazy time for this week. We wanted to talk about some other interesting news and that was that, to toot our own horn so to speak, the Canadian Bar Association comes out with a monthly magazine. And there was a contest out there and in terms of some judging of various websites and so on. And we were proud –
Suzana Popovic-Montag: It’s so exciting. We’re just thrilled that that was actually the result and the recognition. It’s unbelievable, I think. A real kudos to our firm and the work that’s been done by our individual lawyers and participants. So we’re very proud of that.
Ian Hull: Yes we are. And my Dad was always an early adopter with technology. So he was a big part of getting that whole project going. And we have some of his videos right on the web page still which are, based on the statistics, are watched quite regularly. But for a guy that was not of that vintage, he spear-headed the efforts that we put it into and I think they’ve been rewarded. It’s fun to get the award but we are always very proud of our website and continue to update it and are constantly looking at changes, which in fact hopefully in the New Year, we’re going to be able to have our new and improved website released. But that’s still in the working so we’ll announce that when it happens.
Alright, well I wanted to turn back to our mini series that we’ve been working on in the context of Power of Attorneys, and more particularly looking at, as we’ve said before, from the client perspective. What can the client expect us to be discussing with them when they get into this world of capacity litigation? And/or not just contentious litigation or taking on the role as a Power of Attorney. I was reminded actually as my Dad’s health declined over the last few months; we were constantly faced with having to deal with the Power of Attorney, using the Power of Attorney. My mother was the attorney and she dealt with things from an administrative standpoint. But it was one of those reliefs when you pulled it out of the file. You think, oh good, we’ve got one and it’s properly done and it’s usable. So I personally experienced…I know it seems sort of trite but the importance of having a Power of Attorney that works, that we don’t have to run to Court, we don’t have to be tested. We were lucky obviously that we had no challenge or family dynamics to deal with. But there’s nothing that beats the well-drafted document.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: That’s for sure. And having it ready to go when you really need it – I think that’s peace of mind that you can only hope that everyone plans for in advance properly like that.
Ian Hull: And as my mother was working through her role as Power of Attorney, I was constantly reminding her of her duties, which opens us into our next discussion which is the duties of a Power of Attorney. I’m, of course, joking but it’s true. The importance of the job and our last podcast we talked about some of the earlier fundamental duties of good record-keeping and so forth. But one of the things that we were dealing with in my Dad’s later months were dealing with bringing in the assets and determining whether some needed to be sold or not sold for care costs and so on. So that’s a big part of the decision-making process. Before you even take the active step, you have to start making business decisions.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Right. And I think, Ian, we may have mentioned on a previous podcast that part of the responsibilities of a person who is acting as a Power of Attorney or a guardian if they’ve been appointed by the Court, is to actually have in hand the individual’s Will, so that they know what kinds of assets are going to whom in certain situations. And so when things do have to be sold, we know whether or not they’re already ear-marked for someone at the end of the day. And if so, then some decisions have to be made as well.
Ian Hull: That’s a very good point and one that, now that you raise it, I never actually looked at my Dad’s Will while I was helping my mother. So I’ve broke my own rule but that’s a good illustration. I say that, both chastising myself but as a good illustration of when you get into the hurly-burly of the process, you sometimes forget some of the fundamentals. And what we often will tell our clients is don’t be afraid to come back to talk to us and sort of get your bearings as to where you are during the process, so that we can refresh your memory and your mindset as to some of the core duties. And unfortunately, or fortunately, like my Dad’s passing was quick so there wasn’t a lot of activity. But the fact is, is that here I am, I do live and breathe this work and I never actually looked at his Will directly. Now I had an idea of what was in it because he had told me before when he got sick but it would have been a good idea to actually look at the document. And I think that if we had to care for him over a longer period of time, it might have been worthwhile to sit down with a lawyer just to get a refresher because you’re so focused on making sure that the care is there, that the right chair is in the room or the facility is doing what they’re doing. And you’re forgetting sometimes some of the basic job that you have. And why we say that is because that’s where the litigation comes from.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: And that’s what I was just thinking, you know, and that’s the irony of it. People are doing good for goodness sakes. They’re so focused on the emotional aspect of taking care of your loved one. And then it’s so easy at the end of the day for someone to sit back and chastise or criticize what was done, saying you know that wasn’t the standard. Unfortunately that is the requirement so to be able to sort of stop and have that advice maybe along the way or whatever to refresh it as you say, I think is really…it’s good advice because you do get caught up. You can’t help but be involved.
Ian Hull: That’s right. The focus is the care and you aren’t focusing on the business side of the job. Yet when they pass, the business side of the job is all that matters…
Suzana Popovic-Montag: That’s right.
Ian Hull: …because you haven’t documented the care. Nobody will believe how much you put into the care. Nobody will believe the time and energy that went into it. All they care about is well what business role did you take and did you perform those business duties properly? So it’s a good experience. I mean it’s been a hard time for me and my family but a tremendous learning experience. And really again, I think it helps, if I’m looking at the perspective of the client, what they’re going to get themselves into in the Power of Attorney world…
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Right.
Ian Hull: …and when they’re dealing with a person who is incapable, what kind of realities are there. Let’s not just talk about the law but let’s talk about the reality of the job. So that kind of refreshed look at things is one idea. So anyway again, it’s a sad day that my Dad passed away. But he was a great man and a tremendous part of this practice area. So he’s going to be very much missed but he certainly left his mark.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: He did.
Ian Hull: And no stone was unturned in respect of his role at the practice of law and as a Dad and as a friend to many. So…
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Absolutely.
Ian Hull: …thanks so much, Suzana, for today.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Thanks to you too.
Ian Hull: And again, apologize for being a couple of days late on the podcast but we’ll get it up and aired.
Suzana Popovic-Montag: Thank you, Ian.
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