Family Law/Trusts and Estates Event for Lucy McSweeney

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Hull and Hull LLP

On March 30, 2011, the Family Law Section and Trusts and Estates Section of the Ontario Bar Association are holding a joint event to meet the Province’s new Children’s Lawyer, Ms. Lucy McSweeney. Ms. McSweeney was appointed to the position of Children’s Lawyer for Ontario on September 18, 2010. I understand that Ms. McSweeney’s legal background includes civil litigation, human rights, constitutional and labour law. The Office of the Children’s Lawyer is part of the Ministry of the Attorney General and provides legal services on behalf of children under the age of 18, and in estates, on behalf of the unborn and unascertained, as well.

Ms. McSweeney will address both the Family Law and the Trusts and Estates Sections. This event will allow those in attendance to meet and hear Ms. McSweeney. The program chairs are Dan Goldberg, Senior Counsel, Office of the Children’s Lawyer (Personal Rights) and Susan Stamm, Counsel, Office of the Children’s Lawyer (Property Rights). 

For more information, please contact Blossom Pangowish, OBA Sections Co-ordinator, at (416) 869-0513, ext. 399 or at blossom@oba.org.

See you there.

Craig R. Vander Zee - Click here for more information on Craig Vander Zee.

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A Child's Interest

Posted on January 25, 2007 by Hull and Hull LLP

Recently, a client came to me regarding the purchase of a family cottage. The client was obviously excited about his new purchase, and wanted advice as to whether he should include his minor children on title. As his children would ultimately inherit the cottage, he thought it would be a good idea to include them on title from the start. My client knew that if his children were joint owners, they would continue to own the cottage after he died by right of survivorship. Not only would capital gains taxes be deferred (until the children ultimately disposed of the cottage), but the cottage would not be included as an estate asset for the purposes of calculating the estate administration tax (i.e. probate fees). It seemed like the perfect plan.

However, despite my client’s best intentions, my advice was not to put his children on title. The problem was that if the cottage had to be sold or mortgaged while his children were still minors, a court order would be required. Moreover, The Children’s Lawyer would have to be put on notice if such a court order were requested. Finally, the court would only grant an order when it was of the opinion that the sale or encumbrance of the cottage was necessary or proper for the support or education of the children, or would substantially benefit them. In the end, it was better for my client to simply wait until his children were adults before transferring his interest in the cottage to them.

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