Toronto Estate Lawyer : Hull & Hull Law Firm : Trust Mediation and Succession Planning : Serving Ontario, Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

There are several interesting continuing legal education (CLE) events coming up in September and October 2008 that I wanted to mention as summer draws to a close and we look to the fall.

One is an Ontario Bar Association (OBA) full day program on September 23, 2008 commencing at 9:00 a.m. entitled “Trusts, Trustees, Trusteeships III – All you need to know and more”. This is the third year that this program on Trusts is running. The use of Trusts and Trust drafting are said to be the primary focus of this year’s program.

Topics include: Valuation Issues and Discretionary Trusts, The Effect of Bankruptcy on Estate Planning, Testamentary Trust Planning, The Use of Trusts as a Will Substitute, Charitable Gifts made by a Trust, Trust Variations, Insurance Trusts and Declarations, Judicial Supervision of the Exercise of Trustee Discretionary Powers and Trust Drafting.
 

I am pleased to be speaking on the topic on Trust Variations together with Justin de Vries.

This program is being held at the OBA Conference Centre, 20 Toronto Street, 2nd Floor, Toronto. Information on this program can be found on the OBA’s website www.oba.org/.

The other program is Hull and Hull LLP’s next Breakfast Series on October 8, 2008. Hull & Hull LLP’s long running Breakfast Series continues to provide members of the bar with presentations on topics of importance to estate practitioners.

At the October 8th meeting, the following presentations will be made: “The Will to Decide - What to do When Capacity is in Question” by Natalia Angelini, "Dealing with the Body, and other Estate Issues that Arise Immediately Upon Death" by Paul Trudelle and “Recent Caselaw Developments” by Ian Hull.

This breakfast meeting is also being held at the OBA Conference Centre, 20 Toronto Street, 2nd Floor, Toronto. Breakfast begins at 8:15 a.m. with the Presentations starting at 8:30 a.m. A fee of $30.00 ($28.30 + $1.70 GST) is payable to Hull & Hull LLP upon registration by cheque, VISA or MasterCard. Materials are included.

A CD or Cassette Tape recording of the Breakfast Seminar will be available at a fee of $20.00 ($18.96 + $1.14 GST)

To register for the Hull & Hull LLP Breakfast Series, please contact Diane Labao at (416) 369-1140 (press 0) or by email to dlabao@hullandhull.com.

Have a great day.

Craig
 

• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

What are some of the "red flags" to be wary of in the course of a retainer to prepare a Will?  Corina Weigl considered this issue in an article she wrote for the 2007 LSUC Six Minutes Estates Lawyer (find it here) titled "How to Bullet-Proof Your Will".  By far the most typical "red flag" arises in the context of third party involvement, such as where a close friend or relative (commonly a child of the testator), contacts the lawyer directly asking for advice in respect of the testator’s estate (i.e. “My Dad needs a will drawn up”). This is a common scenario for most estate planning practitioners. The lawyer should remind the third party who the "real" client is and that best practice demands that he or she deal with the testator (as opposed to the third party) directly.  Lawyers are advised to hold meetings in private with the "real" client; to prepare detailed notes of telephone conversations and meetings with the "real" client, and to scrutinize motivations in cases where there are blatant departures from the provisions of former Wills. Another “red flag” is the unequal treatment of beneficiaries. To avoid the possibility of a dispute down the road, clients should be clear in expressing their wish to exclude an obvious beneficiary (i.e. leaving out 1 of his 3 kids). The lawyer may ask for an explanation of why the person is being treated differently, and the lawyer will likely take notes. Unequal treatment inevitably leads to family friction and may up the chances of a will challenge. Lastly, it is a lawyer’s duty to be satisfied that their client has the requisite mental capacity – once again the lawyer is advised to take notes and when in doubt, consult expert opinion.

Sarah Hyndman Fitzpatrick