Asking the right questions will help you find the right fit The truth is that sometimes in life, you need a family lawyer: To help with estates, Wills and powers of attorney; for property division and mortgage agreements; for marriage and co-habitation agreements; and, yes, for separation, divorce and child custody agreements. It’s a […]
It’s not as hard as you think I have to be honest: I’ve been a lawyer for a long time now with the gray to show for it and I’ve always thought November was the best month to be ‘make-a-will month’. The other eleven are also great months to update your Will or get to it the
Special and extraordinary expenses for children “My ex-wife said our daughter had been accepted to a prestigious, but expensive, dance camp. So I gave her $3000 as half of the tuition – but now I’m almost positive my daughter never actually went to the camp. What should I do?” Special and extraordinary expenses are governed
Don’t worry so much about that first meeting For most people, engaging a lawyer is a big deal – and not something they do every day. So not only are there concerns about the issue that has brought a person to a law office in the first place, but also concerns about things like costs,
“I had a marriage contract drawn up by my lawyer. My lawyer said my fiance needs to get independent legal advice before she signs it. What does that mean and entail?” First of all, your lawyer is right: Before your fiance signs a marriage contract or cohabitation agreement that has been prepared at your
Divorce proceedings can sometimes get ugly. “I’m in the midst of a messy divorce, and my soon-to-be ex is convinced I had an affair. He says he’s going to subpoena my personal emails to prove it. I’m not having an affair, but I don’t want him to have access to all my personal emails,
Is that Will you wrote on a piece of notebook paper in high school still valid? Okay, we’ve talked before about how important it is to make a Will, and how important it is that your friends, family and/or lawyer can find your will when you’re not around to tell them it’s hidden at the
It’s a good time to call us. A surprising number of people do not have Wills. In fact, more than 70% of Canadians haven’t gotten around to preparing their last Will and Testament, as it once was affectionately known. More surprisingly, even a number of lawyers don’t seem to have received or acted upon the information
Lots of families have them: a sibling who can’t get it together, causes more than their share of family drama or constantly needs to be bailed out of trouble. Maybe it’s a step-sibling who feels slighted by Dad’s new wife, a brother who’s battled addiction or a sister with a sense of entitlement. Whatever
This week, our own Timothy Sullivan’s first piece for The Lawyers Weekly covers how lawyers can more successfully manage the sometimes tense situations that arise when common-law partners approach the Wills & Estates process. In the past 10 years, the number of common law couples in Canada has grown at something like four times the
