Estate Law
How can we help you?
Wills
We help you with the proper planning and distribution of your assets upon death to ensure the future care and support of your loved ones.
Powers of Attorney for Property
We prepare the necessary legal documents which allow you to direct someone to manage your assets and property during your life, including during your incapacity should the need arise.
Most of us manage our own property during our lifetime. Sometimes, whether we are travelling or living abroad for a certain duration, we need someone else to help manage our property. Sometimes we become incapacitated and are no longer able to manage our own finances.
A Power of Attorney for Property is a written legal document allowing you to authorize another person (or financial institution) to manage your property when you cannot do so yourself. It can be a time limited document, can relate to specific property, or can be a general Continuing Power of Attorney that allows someone to manage all of your financial affairs, including once you become incapable of doing so yourself.
This is a very important document that cannot be taken lightly due to the risk of financial abuse. You can have multiple powers of attorney, and these can be withdrawn in writing at any time while you maintain capacity to do so.
Remember that property in Ontario is defined as anything with a dollar value, including real estate, bank accounts, pensions, investments, stocks, and vehicles. They also include debts and liabilities, dealing with your taxes, utilities, and other financial accounts.
Powers of Attorney for Personal Care
We prepare the necessary legal document in which you outline your instructions to someone on what decisions they must make regarding your health, medical treatment and personal care if you become incapacitated.
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a written legal document that authorizes a person to make decisions on your behalf and relating to your personal care once you no longer have the capacity to do so yourself.
This person, called an Attorney, can make decisions relating to your health care, nutrition, shelter, safety, and personal care such as clothing and hygiene.
You can direct this person as to what extent of medical treatment you wish to receive in certain circumstances, and whether or not you wish to be kept alive artificially.
Generally, at least one medical assessment should be performed to trigger and authorize this person to act on your behalf.
This document is different in its enforceability than a Healthcare Directive or Living Will, and is the preferred legal document in Ontario.
Estate Administration
When a person dies, someone needs to manage and finalize the deceased person’s estate, and ultimately distribute their assets and effects.
When a person dies, their estate needs to be organized and ultimately closed, by distributing the remaining assets to named beneficiaries. If the deceased person has prepared a Will, the Will authorizes and directs an Executor, now called an Estate Trustee, on how to deal with the estate and who should benefit from the assets.
If someone dies without having a valid Will, there will be a need for someone to step forward, usually the next of kin, to administer the estate and remaining assets will be distributed according to a specific order prescribed by the law in Ontario.
Administering an estate can be very complicated depending on how big the estate is. An estate is defined as all real and personal property owned by a person at the time of death. This can include real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, pensions, insurance policies, stock plans, businesses, professional corporations etc. It will also include all debts such as taxes, mortgages, lines of credit, utilities.
If there is a Will, it will often need to be probated, so as to be accepted as a valid Will by the Court. This will also give a representative their authority to deal with the estate and communicate with financial institutions and government bodies and professionals.
There are many requirements and responsibilities for an Estate Trustee and this can be quite a burden. We strongly recommend an Estate Trustee to work with a lawyer to ensure no errors are made before distributing assets to the beneficiaries.
Estate Disputes
At times when someone dies without a Will, or prepares a Will on their own and it is subsequently determined to be invalid or unclear on death, some issues may end up in dispute.
The main reason to properly prepare your Will and take the time to properly plan for your estate and loved ones is to avoid estate disputes after your death. This will only cause extra stress and cost to your family and loved ones.
Sometimes if there is no Will, or a Will is deemed invalid on death, people become upset and want to have their day in court. Other times, the lack of clarity in a will or lack of a valid Will creates uncertainty and the person stepping forward to be the Estate Trustee has to attend court to get approval or instructions on how to proceed in administering an estate.
Sometimes it is paperwork that needs to be submitted to the court. Sometimes a Beneficiary wants to know their inheritance will be protected. Other times there will be a disagreement on how an Estate Trustee is acting, or who the Estate Trustee should be. Sometimes the distribution of assets will be challenged by a spouse or other beneficiary.
Shinehoft Law works collaboratively using mediation and negotiation to resolve estate matters.