When you have children from a previous relationship and a new spouse, things can be complicated. They will be more complicated if your only asset...
With blended families – such as new spouse and kids with a different spouse – there can be issues when deciding who to leave what in your wills....
Testamentary Discretionary trusts are one of the greatest ‘structures’ out there because the income of the trust can be distributed to minor...
An attorney has great powers which they can abuse. The abuse can be intentional or unintentional. This can lead to a loss of assets and they may...
Life tenancies are not very popular anymore, but they once were, and they are still have their uses. A life tenant is someone who receives a right...
If a person has no will then the intestacy laws will apply. These laws will generally mean the assets pass to the spouse and/or the children. If...
Generally, to be able to contest a will the person would need to have an interest in the estate – present or future. This would mean they would...
Legal Tip 379: Revoking a will Some people make a will but later change their mind and want to ‘cancel’ or revoke it. How do you revoke a...
Some clients ask me if it is necessary to update wills to reflect their new names and new addresses as they move house. Example Lisa Simpson...
Imagine a situation where someone in the family, such uncle Fester, who died say 40 years ago and left the house that he owned in his will to...
When setting up your will it would be a good idea to plan ahead yet. If you don’t have children you may end up having some after the will is...
Many discretionary trusts are drafted in such a way that Beneficiaries will change over time. This will happen where the deed is worded so that...
When a person is to receive a gift from a will, they might die before that gift is received. A parent might die before their parent dies with...
Not too sure what specific category this question is but I'm sure it touches some sort of family law and estate planning. My sisters and I are...
It is a trust that cannot see. Blind trusts have been in the news a bit lately. The concept of a blind trust is that a person, the beneficiary,...
People don’t like to think of this, but when preparing your will you would need to consider that your children or child could die before you. If...
When a small change is needed to a will the testator should ideally go back to the lawyer that drafted the will and get them to change it. Then...
It is rare, but I have seen at least one discretionary trust set up that did not have an appointor position. No one had the power to remove the...
Discretionary trusts are usually set up with someone occupying a position known as the ‘appointor’. The appointor generally has the power to...
Many people want to set up trusts in such a way that certain people cannot benefit. Usually these are ex-spouses. That is easy enough to do you...
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