Columnists - Winnipeg Free Press

John Poyser

Rules governing end-of-life care may change
Gloria Taylor lived in British Columbia and suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. She wanted the right to end her life on her own terms. That was going to be difficult. She did not want to end her own life while it had quality. The disease was going to rob her of that quality of life. She would be locked in her body, unable to move. That would render her unable to commit suicide if and when she wanted to. She wanted the option, and did not want the disease to strip her of it. She would need assistance if and when she chose to end her life. The Criminal Code made it illegal for anyone to provide that assistance. Suicide is legal, but only if you do it yourself. Taylor went to court and argued the law discriminated against her. By depriving her of help when she needed it, it deprived her of her ability to end her life. Her disability would stop her from doing what other able-bodied Canadians could do for themselves.
View Full Column | 04/17/2013 1:00 AM | 0
Amending wills can be tricky business
J. Paul Getty was born in 1892 into a wealthy oil family. He worked in the family business and, eventually, became fantastically wealthy in his own right. He was a playboy, and fell out of his father's favour as a result. He had to earn his fortune the hard way, by his own efforts. It went well for him. He had a touch for business, and by the time he passed away, he was one of the wealthiest people in the world. He taught himself to speak Arabic and purchased oil rights to tracts of land in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait before oil was discovered there. No small trick. His most widely quoted remark? "The meek will inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights."
View Full Column | 03/20/2013 1:00 AM | 0
Choice of guardian paramount in young parents' will
Mark and Susan have young children. When it came time to do their wills, their lawyer asked, "Who should take over in the role of parents if the two of you die while the kids are underage?" For young families, that is often the most difficult decision during the will-making process. If you have young children, it is important you address that when you are making a will. How do you pick the right person for the job?
View Full Column | 02/20/2013 1:00 AM | 0
Do not pass go, do not inherit $200... really
John's family plays the board game Monopoly at each and every family gathering. Birthday parties, Christmas, whatever -- the board game comes out. When it came time to make his will, John told his lawyer he had an idea. John had beautiful and valuable antique furniture. Could he have his nieces and nephews play a game of Monopoly and have the winner of the game take all of the furniture as an inheritance? The idea is not a new one. A rich and eccentric English gentleman owned a palatial house in the tropics and, in his will, directed his nephews to gather there after his death and throw dice. The nephew able to throw the highest number would win the mansion. When the gentleman died, the executor followed the terms of the will. He invited the nephews to make the trip to the island and try their hand with the dice. The executor made the trip, as well, to supervise the process. Three nephews took turns throwing a pair of dice. One lucky nephew walked away with the deed to the property. The result was upheld in court. A game of chance is an acceptable legal mechanism to give away specific property under a will.
View Full Column | 01/16/2013 1:00 AM | 0
Alternatives to litigation during estate disputes
Fred did a will before he died that appointed a friend to act as his executor. The will directed that his estate was to be divided between his two children. They were adults, but Fred thought he would do them a favour by letting his friend, Max, do the job. Max had already served as executor for two other people. Max knew the ropes. That did not mean things went well. The children thought Max worked too slowly. They were eager to get their inhertances and called him and emailed frequently. He thought they were being ungrateful. They thought he was being high-handed. He sat on emails and did not respond immediately -- trying to let them know they could not order him around like a lapdog. The children threatened to hire a lawyer -- trying to let Max know that they would not sit idly by while he dithered. Frustrations escalated. Everyone was surprised at how quickly things became uncivil.
View Full Column | 12/19/2012 1:00 AM | 0
What to do with a will once you've written it
Sam just signed his last will and testament. He is planning to leave his estate equally between his two children. One lives in Calgary and the other in Winnipeg. His lawyer asked him where he planned to store the original copy. Good question.
View Full Column | 09/19/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Renting out house nearly cost dad's estate big time
Jack inherited a house in British Columbia when he was a young man. It was a lovely old house on a quaint old street and the perfect place to raise a family. Eventually, the children moved out and his wife died. He lived on in the house as a widower, tending the garden each year while growing older. When his health failed in 2003, he moved to Calgary to be with family, and after a few years in a "grampa suite" at his daughter's place, he went into a care home. He died last year and his daughter, Corey, was his executor.
View Full Column | 07/18/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Trust fund tools aid disabled child
Jack is a devoted father. He has a disabled son, Phillip, and he is committed to securing the best possible future for him. Jack is likely going to die before his son does, and Jack knows that. His will carefully establishes a trust for Phillip. After Jack passes away, half of his estate will be held in a trust for the rest of Phillip's life. That will allow for the careful management of the inheritance for Phillip. It is important it not run out. Phillip's sister, Corey, will be the trustee of the trust. She will handle her brother's money. The Income Tax Act includes some special tax provisions that will be of use to this family.
View Full Column | 06/20/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Death triggers major tax issues
Jack normally paid approximately $40,000 a year in personal income taxes. He paid that amount, plus or minus, in 2008 and 2009. It was a little less in 2010 after he retired. In 2011, his personal income taxes jumped to $260,000, more than six times higher than in previous years. He did not get a job. He did not sell his business. He did not inherit or win the lottery. What made 2011 so different? Jack died. Death can come with a high cost in personal income taxes.
View Full Column | 05/16/2012 1:00 AM | 0
For couples with kids, estate planning is essential
Andrea dragged her husband, Brad, to a lawyer to get a will done. The two of them were in their early 30s. They had little in terms of assets and were busy with their first baby. The legal fee for a proper estate plan was going to set the two of them back $1,000 or so. It seemed like a waste. Brad had his eye on a new guitar. One of the first questions the lawyer asked was who should take over parenting their child if both of them died in a car crash. Brad thought his parents would be best for the job. Andrea thought it should be her sister. It took a discussion later at home to work that through. Brad's parents were getting on in years, and Andrea's sister already had two young children of her own. They decided on the sister, who agreed to do it when they phoned her to ask. A clause was written into their wills to state that preference.
View Full Column | 04/18/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Cheapest lawyer may not be best
Sam needed to prepare a new will and phoned around to find out how much it would cost. He called several lawyers. This is what he learned. Lawyers quoted fees for the will ranging from a low of $200 to a high of $1,200. He told each lawyer the same thing: that he had assets of about $500,000 and wanted to divide his estate at his death between two children, who were both adult and living here. He also told the lawyers he wanted not just a will, but also a power of attorney and medical directive to deal with his affairs if he became too sick to do so himself. The job he described was the same, but the quoted legal fees were all over the block.
View Full Column | 03/21/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Earliest days most vital time for will's executor
John Mitchell appointed his nephew, Fred, to be his executor under his will. Wasting no time, John died shortly thereafter on June 6, 2009. It was sudden. Fred found out about it from a cousin a few hours later. If Fred wanted to do a good job as executor, it was important he start immediately. Here is what Fred had to do over the first two days.
View Full Column | 02/15/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Handling an estate time-consuming
John Mitchell died on June 6, 2009. A year later his beneficiaries were up in arms. Why? They thought the process was taking too long and wanted their money. His executor was a nephew named Fred. He tried to move things along as quickly as possible. First of all, he had to take care of dozens upon dozens of important details. Some were urgent, like finding the will and making funeral arrangements. Others were less so. Those included emptying out the apartment and asking for a refund of the damage deposit, cancelling credit cards, distributing heirlooms, advising OAS to stop payments, and going through all of the deceased's papers. Some were important but could wait for later in the process. Those included applying for probate and filing a year-of-death tax return. The deceased had an electric mobility scooter and the executor had to make arrangements for it to be sold on consignment.
View Full Column | 01/19/2012 1:00 AM | 0
Tread carefully when investing for incapacitated ward
Peter Smith took over his dad's financial affairs at the beginning of 2010. He slowly worked through all of the things he needs to know to do the job for his father correctly. His dad had a portfolio of investments. First, there was a RRIF valued at $260,000. Then there was a pool of non-registered investments, chiefly stocks in publicly traded companies such as Apple. The portfolio had an aggregate value of $400,000.
View Full Column | 12/21/2011 1:00 AM | 0
In transfers of wealth, courts tend to protect the giver
George Gamble lived in Medicine Hat, Alta., and was a widower. In his 80s, he had some wealth. More than half of it was in the form of publicly traded shares in the Bank of Nova Scotia. He had no children and befriended a woman, age 50, who later became his lady friend. Her name was Sarah. He proposed to Sarah six times, but each time she refused. Life can be complicated. She had been married in the United States and had lost track of her estranged husband. She did not know if the divorce he had started had gone through.
View Full Column | 11/16/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Thorough record-keeping key to power of attorney
Peter Smith was appointed as his father's 'attorney' under a general power of attorney document and took over his dad's financial affairs at the beginning of 2010. He took copies of the power of attorney to his father's financial adviser and banks, provided a doctor's letter confirming his father's incapacity to anyone who asked for it. He then started writing cheques and collecting his dad's pension payments. So far, so good. He wanted to do the job right, and after six months of handling his father's affairs he made an appointment to get some advice from a lawyer. The lawyer asked him to bring in the books he was maintaining for his father's money. "What books?" Peter asked.
View Full Column | 10/19/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Rules govern powers of attorney
Peter Smith took over his dad's financial affairs at the beginning of 2010. His dad had been failing and eventually suffered a stroke that made it impossible for him to live independently and continue to handle his own financial affairs. The doctors said it was time. The father had signed an enduring power of attorney some years earlier that appointed his son Peter as his "attorney." The word attorney in this context describes a person who is given authority to handle another person's financial affairs under a power of attorney
View Full Column | 09/22/2011 3:17 AM | 0
Power of attorney took load off senior
When is it time to take over financial affairs for a loved one? Bill asked his two nephews whether they would be willing to take over his financial affairs if he became too old or infirm to handle it himself. The two nephews said "yes."
View Full Column | 08/17/2011 1:00 AM | 0
You may need customized power of attorney
Sam is a U.S. citizen working for a company here in Canada. He has done so for 30 years now. The country has been good to him, and he has managed to build up some fairly substantial assets. If you ask him, he will say that he is "comfortable." In fact, Sam is so comfortable that he will be liable for substantial U.S. estate taxes when he dies. That is true even if he never goes back to the United States, and dies here in Canada. He has good advisers and understands the risk. The advisers have, among other things, recommended a strategy of making gifts to his children and grandchildren. He makes a gift to each one of them in the annual maximum allowed under U.S. gift tax legislation. The more he transfers now, the less the U.S. government will be able to tax later. That is smart.
View Full Column | 07/20/2011 1:00 AM | 0
How to prevent inheritance from slipping through fingers
Bill and Sandra are worried about their sons. They are 25 and 32 years old. Neither has shown any ability to deal with money. They spend it as fast as they earn it. One son has a history of creditor trouble that has forced his parents to bail him out more than once. When it came time to see a lawyer and make their wills, they were in a quandary. If the two of them were to die tomorrow in a car crash, each of the boys would inherit north of $800,000. That is a lot of money to squander.
View Full Column | 06/15/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Two wills solve one pesky problem
Hugh MacDonald immigrated to Canada from England some 50 years ago. His English relatives keep dying off. None of them had children and he has inherited a substantial amount of money in the U.K. He has left it there. It is invested with U.K. investment firms. He has also acquired wealth of his own here in Canada. He worked hard at a good job and was a "saver."
View Full Column | 05/18/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Trust in wills to make life better for loved ones
Joan Brown had one daughter. The daughter led a troubled life. She had a drug problem. She was prone to depression. She developed health problems. She was unable to work and became dependent on the Ontario government for income support. It was a happy day when her daughter had children of her own -- three girls. They were Joan's only grandchildren. It was a sad day when the grandchildren were apprehended by government child-welfare workers and put into a foster home.
View Full Column | 04/20/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Careful what you leave behind
Bob and Sally have three adult children. All three are married. The marriages appear to be solid, but Bob and Sally have learned that even solid marriages have a way of breaking up. Bad things sometimes happen to good people. They are scratching their heads when it comes time to draft their wills. Bob will leave everything to Sally if he dies first, and vice versa. After both of them are gone, the plan is to divide their wealth into three equal shares, one for each of the children.
View Full Column | 03/16/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Trust keeps inheritance tax at bay
David Smith is proud of his son, Bob. His son is a banker and a successful one. So successful, he ended up living in London, England, with a job at an international bank. That creates an estate planning problem for David. Getting on in years, David is making a will. His son will get an equal share of the estate along with his siblings. That will likely amount to an inheritance of just under $500,000.
View Full Column | 02/16/2011 1:00 AM | 0
Dynasty trust makes family secure, keeps vision alive
Dave Johnson built up a substantial fortune. He did it the old-fashioned way - from scratch. By the time he was 40, he had made his first million. By the time he was 50, he had 20 million. By the time he was sixty, he had 50 million. It takes a special person to build a large fortune. It is not taught in school. It also takes a measure of luck.
View Full Column | 12/15/2010 1:00 AM | 0

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