Power of Attorney
Empowering Your Future: Understanding Enduring Powers of Attorney
Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) In the journey of life, we encounter various uncertainties and challenges. It’s essential to plan for the future, not only for our well-being but also to ensure that our wishes are respected and upheld, especially when unforeseen circumstances arise. One powerful tool for such planning is the Enduring Power of … Read more
Who Can Witness Your Documents
A question we get asked a lot is ‘who can witness my estate planning documents?’ In this post we aim to outline in clear terms who can witness your documents. Wills For your Will to be valid, it needs to be signed in front of two (2) witnesses. These witnesses need to be over … Read more
What is a Discretionary Testamentary Trust (DTT)?
In essence, a DTT is a structure that can be put in your Will that can save your beneficiaries from paying unnecessary tax, and may offer other protections to your beneficiaries as well. Under a Will with no DTT, everything passes directly to your beneficiary – let’s say your spouse. In simplistic terms, your spouse … Read more
Electronic Witnessing of Wills and Powers of Attorney
Last year was a difficult year for Wills & Estates lawyers. When COVID-19 hit, lawyers had to work from home and could no longer have face-to-face meetings with their clients. A big problem quickly arose, how could our clients sign their Wills in front of two witnesses when they were unable to leave their homes … Read more
Advance Care Directives – Part 3 – Values Directives
A Values Directive is a statement of your values and preferences for your medical treatment. Some questions you might like to consider in determining your values include: What matters most in your life? For example: Do you want to live as long as possible, whatever it takes? Or is quality of life more important to … Read more
Advance Care Directive – Part 1
We often mention Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker documents in our Estate Planning discussions. The Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker (AMTDM) is the document under which you can appoint a person to make medical decisions on your behalf when you no longer have the capacity to make those decisions on your own. An … Read more