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Donna Neff's Law BlogAnd Baby Makes Three (Or More!) . . . Estate Planning Tips When Baby Is On The Way (Part 1)April 30th, 2012Whether your first or your fifth, welcoming a new baby to your family is surely one of life’s greatest joys. In all the flurry of excitement as you prepare to bring your wee one home, don’t forget to review your estate planning as revisions will be necessary to properly plan for your expanding family. Over the next few blogs, I will suggest some things to consider. Read the rest of this entry »  How to Access the Internet from Anywhere Using an iPhoneMarch 30th, 2012When I am travelling and want to access the internet where there is no wi-fi, I use my iPhone’s built-in Personal Hotspot feature to connect my iPad or my laptop quickly and easily. I have an iPad, iPhone 4S, a Toshiba laptop running XP Pro and an Asus netbook. The steps below describe how to connect any of these using the Personal Hotspot feature. Read the rest of this entry » How To Screw Up Your Estate Planning With One SignatureMarch 19th, 2012That’s all it takes. One signature can completely undo the most careful estate planning. Just what am I talking about? Let me tell you about Jim (not his real name) who met with me recently to review his estate plan. We talked about his unique family situation, what he owned, who he wanted to benefit and why. Jim was married with one little boy. He also had an older daughter from a previous marriage. She lived with Jim and his family as Jim had sole custody. Although Jim loved both of his children equally, he felt that his daughter should receive something extra from his estate. He reasoned that his son would inherit from both Jim and Shawna as well as from Shawna’s parents who were quite wealthy. However, his daughter’s mother had disappeared years ago and was unlikely to leave anything for her. Read the rest of this entry » How to Use Your iPad for a PowerPoint PresentationFebruary 6th, 2012When I give a presentation to a large group, I like to display PowerPoint slides to outline my topic as I go along and make sure that I don’t miss key points. I recently bought an iPad and have been experimenting with different ways to use the iPad for this purpose. It seems like there are dozens of ways to do this. Just check the App Store or google “PowerPoint iPad” and you will find many possible solutions. I was looking for a solution that was quick and inexpensive. All I had to buy (besides the iPad) was a VGA adapter which cost $39 plus tax. Here are the steps I took: Read the rest of this entry » Uncle Sam and You: Part 2December 12th, 2011Picking up from last week’s blog where I took a look at some things you should consider before traveling to the US this winter, let’s take a brief look at issues relating to US property ownership and US citizens living in Canada. Owning US Real Property Given the price of US real estate and our strong dollar, many Canadians are buying or thinking about buying a US vacation property. If you own or are planning to purchase US real property, you should know whether your Canadian will and POA’s are considered valid in the jurisdiction where your property is (or will be) located. If anything should happen to you, will your executor or attorney for property be able to deal with your US real property? Read the rest of this entry » Uncle Sam and YouDecember 5th, 2011In honour of the recent US holiday weekend, I thought I would focus on some estate planning topics south of the border for the next couple of blogs. Are you or someone you know:
For all of these situations, there are estate planning considerations of particular importance to ensure that your legal obligations are met. Read the rest of this entry » iPad 2 — Is it Working (or Playing)?November 13th, 2011Two months ago after much thought and research and talking to other iPad™ users, I took the plunge and bought an iPad 2. This wasn’t meant to be a toy but a tool for getting real work done, any place, any time that suited me and my busy on-the-go schedule. Read the rest of this entry » RDSPs and ODSPOctober 28th, 2011Question: How do I know if I can have a Registered Disability Savings Plan (“RDSP”)? Will it affect my payments under the Ontario Disability Support Program (“ODSP”)? Answer: Any Canadian resident under the age of 60 and who qualifies for the federal Disability Tax Credit is permitted to have an RDSP. An RDSP has a $200,000 lifetime contribution limit; however, there is no annual contribution limit. There are no restrictions on when the funds can be withdrawn or for what purpose they can be used once withdrawn. The supplemental grants and bonds provided by the Government of Canada are only available until age 49 and only if certain conditions are met. Withdrawals from an RDSP must begin at age 60. There are minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts which are based upon various formulas. For example, the amount, generally monthly, is based on how much is in the plan when withdrawals are to begin and the life expectancy of the beneficiary. For ODSP purposes, RDSPs are fully exempt and are not considered income or an asset. Withdrawals are not considered income by ODSP; however, once the withdrawal is received by the beneficiary, the $5,000 asset limit would then apply. When a Wish is, Well, Just a WishOctober 15th, 2011If you hold an asset jointly with an adult son or daughter, such as a bank account or a cottage, you may be surprised to learn what will happen to the asset after you die. Like many parents, you might assume that the asset passes directly to your surviving child and that he or she can do whatever he or she likes with the asset. However, unless you have made your intentions clear, the law will presume that your child is holding the asset in trust for your estate. In other words, the law does not presume that the asset belongs to your child. Read the rest of this entry » Can I Cut Johnny Out?October 1st, 2011Question: Can a parent exclude or ‘cut’ a child out of his or her Will? Answer: Generally, in Ontario, a person who is mentally capable of making a will is free to leave his or her estate to whomever they wish. A parent could exclude a child from his or her will; however, if the parent had a legal obligation to support the child at the time the parent died, the parent’s estate could be subject to a claim to continue that support. If a child is not named as a beneficiary of a parent’s estate and if the child believes they are entitled to support, an application could be made to court asking for support from the estate. Whether or not the application would succeed would depend upon many factors and the result could not be guaranteed. A child who has been excluded as a beneficiary could challenge the will in court if there is evidence that the parent was influenced by someone to leave the child out or if the parent lacked testamentary capacity at the time of signing the will. |
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