By Brian Madigan LL.B. So, you think that you would like to buy some real estate! In particular, you would like to buy a house. Let’s summarize the principal financial …
Joint Tenancy: A Poor Man’s Will
Brian Madigan LL.B. Question: I am concerned about my mother. Ten years ago, she married a man who now seems to be in ill health. He has operated his own …
Joint Tenancy: Estate Problems
By Brian Madigan LL.B. While there are some advantages to joint tenancy, there are also some problems. The primary advantage is the ease of administration of a deceased’s estate. It …
Non-Titled Spouse and Rights Concerning Deceased’s Estate
Question: The wife survives but she is not on title. This is a second marriage, so the Will includes the husband’s children of his first marriage. Can she stay in …
Severance of a Joint Tenancy
The methods to sever appear to be as follows: 1) disposition: if any or all of the joint tenants convey or dispose of their interests in a property to another party, then …
Joint Venturers or Just “Common Law”
Question: It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with the rights for common law couples. They’ve been living together for approximately 15 YEARS… all in his name. She now knows …
Principal Residence 12 months: You can Have Two!
The key words under the Income Tax Act would be “principal residence”. You can actually have two at the same time with a maximum of a 12 month overlap. So …
Spouse as Defined in the Family Law Act
The real problem with the term “spouse” is that there are actually two definitions, not one, but two. For the sake of simplicity, I will describe them as: Property spouse, …
Calculating the Equalization Payment in Ontario
Question: After a few years marriage, John and Maria are divorcing. John brought in $20,000 and Maria brought in $50,000.The difference, $50,000-$20,000=$30,000 should be equalized during divorcing process and Maria …
Joint Tenancy: Statutory Termination
You might wonder about the statutory termination of a joint tenancy under the provisions of the Family Law Act. It is important to review the Act carefully in order to …