Posted on February 07, 2023 by Oliver Hamilton in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

A retired mother invited her busy entrepreneur son over for a home-cooked dinner. After dinner, the mother asked, “How goes your new start-up software company”? The son reluctantly explained his latest venture failed. Despite huge sales, it never turned a profit. He sold most of his assets to raise funds for his venture. The son assured his mother, “I’m poor and my creditors can take nothing from me and I’m already onto my next venture that will be a big success”. Not wanting to worry his mother, the son did not mention his main creditor had obtained court judgment against him. He assumed his lack of possessions meant his creditor could not collect on the judgment. The mother bid good night to her son. Worried about his precarious finances, she mused, “I should ensure I leave him something after I’m gone”.

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Deirdre Prestage Severide in Featured, Family Law

Choosing the right family lawyer to work with you on your separation is so important.... you need to consider more than just how many wins he or she has recently had in court! It is really important to choose a lawyer that understands you and what is most important to you now and in the future. It is also important that your lawyer understands what is important to your spouse too, because you will not reach an agreement until some of the needs of each of you are met. If you have seen Marriage Story, after the mediator’s involvement ended, neither of the lawyers dug into what was really important to each of Nicole and Charlie. Sadly for them and their son Henry, they ended up going down a traditional legal path with their lawyers that neither of them wanted to go down.

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Nat Olsson in Featured, Real Estate

If you want to add someone to title as a joint tenant to avoid probate fees, or otherwise, you should keep the following in mind:

Creation of the joint tenancy could interfere with your estate plan: title to the property will pass outside of probate, and this might conflict with the intentions expressed in your existing will. It could also lead some of your beneficiaries to bring a claim against the estate if they feel they are not getting their fair share, because, without clear additional proof of your intentions, the person who goes on title with you can be deemed by the court to be holding the property on behalf of your estate, rather than a gift recipient who obtains the property outright upon your death.

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Nat Olsson in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

Do you know why it is a good idea to have a Power of Attorney document, in addition to a  will, and a representation agreement for medical decisions on your behalf?

You could be out of town when trying to sell real estate, and want to have someone you trust sign the transfer and other documents on your behalf. More importantly, you might lose your mental capacity for making such financial transactions because of dementia, or other debilitating medical conditions. If you do not appoint an attorney you trust to carry out these financial transactions and manage your finances for you, one will need to be appointed by the court.

Posted on May 29, 2017 by David Severide in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

In this blog I discuss why the bank won’t listen to you when you are trying to pay bills on behalf of a family member, in this example your Dad, who has become incapacitated, either physically or mentally or both. Just at a time when you are stressed out with the sudden illness of a close family member, and you need a welcoming face at the bank to assist you to take care of some urgent bills for your Dad, you are met with the (unsympathetic) response “ I cant help you unless you have a joint account or power of attorney”. You reply “But I have Dad’s deposit/cheque book and I can prove I am his daughter and you know me cuz I bank here too……” but you can tell that your pleas are falling on deaf ears.

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Deirdre Prestage Severide in Featured, Family Law

Parents contemplating divorce are always concerned that the divorce will negatively impact their children. Many of my clients tell me that they vividly recall living through their parents horrible divorce and don’t want to put their children through a similar experience.

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Deirdre Prestage Severide in Featured, Family Law

Choosing the right family lawyer to work with you on your separation is so important.... you need to consider more than just how many wins he or she has recently had in court! It is really important to choose a lawyer that understands you and what is most important to you now and in the future. It is also important that your lawyer understands what is important to your spouse too, because you will not reach an agreement until some of the needs of each of you are met. If you have seen Marriage Story, after the mediator’s involvement ended, neither of the lawyers dug into what was really important to each of Nicole and Charlie. Sadly for them and their son Henry, they ended up going down a traditional legal path with their lawyers that neither of them wanted to go down.

A Notary Public in British Columbia has fulfilled the course and membership credential requirements of the Society of Notaries Public that enable him or her to perform certain legal procedures and to draft legal documents like basic wills, Powers of Attorney, real estate conveyancing documents, and to witness sworn statements on legal documents, commonly referred to as “notarizing” them.

The family courts are closed during this pandemic however our collaborative offices are open to help you….collaborative professionals can help you within the Collaborative Process (CP) to resolve your separation and divorce in a peaceful, cost effective and non-adversarial manner.

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Deirdre Prestage Severide in Featured, Family Law

In my initial meeting with clients, they often ask this question. It’s a valid question and arises, I think, because of the traditional stereotype of divorce and what it often looks like. Traditionally, divorce was about winning and losing, preparing for a battle in court where you strive to win with little regard for the claims of your spouse. During the process, you try to gain every possible advantage to defeat your spouse. This is a typical “win-lose” scenario! If you think about divorce in these terms, you may be concerned that a more respectful process like the collaborative divorce process may mean concessions and settling for less than what you would get if you win in court.

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Deirdre Prestage Severide in Featured, Family Law

Many people who first learn about collaborative divorce incorrectly assume that it only works for couples who get along well and don’t fight. The thinking is that if there is a significant conflict the couple is not able to negotiate a settlement and likely will need a court to impose an order on them.

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Deirdre Prestage Severide in Featured, Family Law

Some would say that a healthy divorce is an oxymoron! We believe and have seen in our practice that divorce does not have to be adversarial and destructive to relationships and families. Too often people believe that divorcing means fighting, hiding, hating, yelling……..and in the traditional way of resolving these matters in the court process we often experienced this behavior. It doesn’t have to be so! There is a healthier way to restructure your lives going through a separation and divorce – not just for you but also, and perhaps more importantly, for your children.

Posted on February 07, 2023 by Oliver Hamilton in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

A retired mother invited her busy entrepreneur son over for a home-cooked dinner. After dinner, the mother asked, “How goes your new start-up software company”? The son reluctantly explained his latest venture failed. Despite huge sales, it never turned a profit. He sold most of his assets to raise funds for his venture. The son assured his mother, “I’m poor and my creditors can take nothing from me and I’m already onto my next venture that will be a big success”. Not wanting to worry his mother, the son did not mention his main creditor had obtained court judgment against him. He assumed his lack of possessions meant his creditor could not collect on the judgment. The mother bid good night to her son. Worried about his precarious finances, she mused, “I should ensure I leave him something after I’m gone”.

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Nat Olsson in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

Do you know why it is a good idea to have a Power of Attorney document, in addition to a  will, and a representation agreement for medical decisions on your behalf?

You could be out of town when trying to sell real estate, and want to have someone you trust sign the transfer and other documents on your behalf. More importantly, you might lose your mental capacity for making such financial transactions because of dementia, or other debilitating medical conditions. If you do not appoint an attorney you trust to carry out these financial transactions and manage your finances for you, one will need to be appointed by the court.

Estate planning is likely not top of mind for most millennials. Many are focused on starting or growing their careers and families and may believe they have not accumulated enough wealth to make estate planning worthwhile. There is a common misconception that only older adults, or millennials with significant wealth, need a Will. However, there are several reasons why estate planning is still important for the typical millennial. Let’s look at a few examples.

Posted on June 2, 2017 by David Severide in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

In Part 1 we looked at the problem of dealing with Dad’s bills while he is incapacitated, but in Part 2 Dad has unfortunately passed away but now there are even more bills to pay and you have to sell his condo too! So off you go to the bank to sort out Dad’s affairs, and this time you expect it to go smoothly as you have a copy of Dad’s Will in your hand and it says that you are his executor, now more commonly known as a personal representative (and hopefully a beneficiary as well – if you aren’t you should read my next blog on contesting Wills called “My Fair Share”) so you are feeling confident that you will be listened to this time around.

Posted on May 1, 2017 by David Severide in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

PART 1 – WILL-MAKERS PERSPECTIVE

As parents, we expect our children to have the occasional argument or even (gasp!) fight with each other, but most of us have no idea how nasty things can get if a legal war erupts after we are gone because of a B.C. law, known rather innocuously as the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (“WESA”). Within the WESA lies the power to destroy your estate plan and cause significant emotional and financial pain to your family after your death.

Posted on June 14, 2017 by David Severide in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

Under BC law, a Power of Attorney can only be used for legal and financial decision making on behalf of another person (in law we call that person the “donor”). Powers of Attorney have been around for hundreds of years and are well-used documents that are effective for paying bills, selling a residence, signing a contract and similar transactions on behalf of the donor. So far, so good! (For more important information on Powers of Attorney, see my prior blogs).

Posted on June 15, 2017 by David Severide in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

With the ever-increasing role of social media, online data storage, and online shopping in our daily lives, lawyers now have to contemplate how best to “succession plan” for a client’s digital assets on death! Most of us have a variety of online accounts, whether it be for Rewards points, Facebook, LinkedIn, a business website, Netflix, I-cloud or a seemingly endless number of similar digital media that may contain valuable information about us including personal photo albums, private documents and the like. More recently we have been introduced to what are known as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin! Bitcoins are entirely virtual and therefore without the proper legal access and log-in information, any such valuable assets may be unrecoverable by the executor of the Will and never passed on to beneficiaries.

Posted on September 26, 2018 by David Severide in Featured, Wills & Estate Law

The number of families that include furry friends among their members has increased exponentially in recent years, and correspondingly more people are inclined to make some provision in their wills for their pets should the pets outlive them.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

It costs about $475, with taxes, to put in place a valid Power of Attorney (POA) to appoint a trusted person to act for you if were legally unable to manage your affairs and property due to, for example, a car accident or an unforeseen medical condition.  When you lose legal capacity, the bank will freeze your assets, even while the housing and stock markets are dropping, until the bank is provided a valid POA Deed or a court order to appoint someone to administer your affairs and assets.  How will your bills be paid?  If a court order is needed because the incapable person did not have a valid POA, that will typically take 6 months to 1 year and cost about $6,000, assuming no one contests the court application.  Apart from the costs and stress, a lot can happen waiting for the court’s order.  Come meet with us and we will help you avoid such pitfalls by putting in place a sound estate plan. 

Did you incorporate a company on your own without professional help and guidance of a trained business lawyer to explain share structures and company articles?

If a company has not been properly structured from the start, with a comprehensive set of articles and robust capital structure, the total cost to restructure a deficient share structure years later when tax planning is undertaken or the company is to be sold, can far exceed the costs of putting a good foundation in place from the start.

A company has a separate legal existence.

• A company, or corporation, is a person by law. A company is a separate legal entity that is distinct from its shareholder(s) who own it.
• A company has almost all of the same legal rights as an individual and can do most things that an individual can do. A company can enter into contracts, own property in its name, and sue or be sued. Unlike humans, a company’s existence is perpetual. For example, the Hudson’s Bay Company was incorporated in 1670.

Contracts concern relationships and arrangements between people (parties), who may be companies, individuals, partners or trustees of trusts, and create binding legal obligations and responsibilities so that parties can reliably be held to account to perform promises made. Contracts can concern any form of legal subject matter, services, goods, or legal rights, and all the related details like quantities, quality, price, timing, doing or refraining from doing specific action, bearing risks or assigning liabilities or some other obligation.

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Nat Olsson in Featured, Real Estate

If you want to add someone to title as a joint tenant to avoid probate fees, or otherwise, you should keep the following in mind:

Creation of the joint tenancy could interfere with your estate plan: title to the property will pass outside of probate, and this might conflict with the intentions expressed in your existing will. It could also lead some of your beneficiaries to bring a claim against the estate if they feel they are not getting their fair share, because, without clear additional proof of your intentions, the person who goes on title with you can be deemed by the court to be holding the property on behalf of your estate, rather than a gift recipient who obtains the property outright upon your death.

Posted on February 6, 2018 by David Severide in Featured, Real Estate

Given the extremely high cost of housing, there is a growing trend in the Lower Mainland for elderly parents to provide substantial amounts of money towards the purchase or renovation of a house owned by a child, on the understanding that in return for advancing the money, the child will allow the elderly parents to reside in the home owned by the child, perhaps in a separate suite. Sometimes these informal arrangements also include an expectation that some level of care and support will be provided by the child, such as meals, basic nursing care and the like.