Your parent could indeed be a victim of power of attorney forgery if:

• a family member has dementia
• is disabled, feeble, or easily swayed 
• money needed for bills or care is being misused (sports car vs wheelchair van?).

Of course, just disagreeing with financial decisions is not power of attorney forgery. Your loved one has some financial obligations: supporting their spouse or minor children, helping adult children complete their schooling, or caring for an adult financially dependant on them because of illness or disability. Otherwise, their money is their own.

But when a legal document appears false, it’s time to hire an expert to probe for power of attorney forgery. 

It’s Power of Attorney Forgery When  

• A false document was knowingly and intentionally made by altering a genuine power of attorney.
• A false date, attestation, seal or other material thing was added.
• Parts were erased, removed, or otherwise altered.
• The forger misleads others to believe the power of attorney is genuine.

Draft Wills and power of attorney in Ontario. 

Can You Forge a Power of Attorney?

No, even if you think a mentally incompetent person would have consented. A power of attorney forgery will ultimately be overturned in court. 

Regardless of your motives, you’ll be liable for returning any assets you took. Your legal expenses, public embarrassment, and any punitive damages awarded by the court all add up to more hassle than it’s worth. 

Then there’s the possible criminal record.

Stopping a Power of Attorney Forgery

What happens if someone forges a power of attorney can be complicated. Proving power of attorney forgery requires trusted or legally authorized parties to show it is more probable than not that:

1. The victim is or was mentally incompetent due to age, dementia, or disability, and could not have legally signed a power of attorney.
2. They are or were competent, and the signature is not theirs.
3. The signature is theirs, but they didn’t sign that document.
4. They were subjected to undue influence or pressure to sign.

Family, friends, a lawyer, or a public agency like the Ontario Public Trustee and Guardian face a steep test in court. That’s where hiring a forensics expert on forged signatures comes in.

Probate a Will in seven steps. 

Proving Power of Attorney Forgery Using Forensics

Forensic document analysts review a suspected power of attorney forgery for evidence a signature doesn’t match the original writer’s. They give their opinion on whether it was traced, or digitally created or altered using software like Adobe Photoshop. 

Handwriting analysts look for telltale differences that expose a forgery, like differences in how characters are written, or how light a signature is. They prepare a professional report to inform the judge if a signature appears to have been scanned, or cut and pasted into position. 

Questions to ask your probate lawyer. 

Finding Experts for Court Testimony

Look for forensic services with document and handwriting analysts who:

• have formal training 
• lecture or do university-level research
• have awards from peers, like forensic associations
• or present at professional events in their field.

Googling Ontario Superior Court of Justice decisions to see if forensic reports or testimony have been accepted in past is helpful. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee your challenge will be successful.

What Happens If a Power of Attorney Steals Money

Power of attorney disputes may be dealt with in civil court, or elevated to criminal court if the Crown (government) intervenes. Depending on what went on, the outcome can be a court order to return funds to the estate, or criminal sentence. That’s if you can prove it. For civil court, a theft has to be more probable than not. Beyond a reasonable doubt is the criminal standard.

What is Considered Abuse of Power of Attorney?

Forging a signature is not the only way abuse of power of attorney can occur. 

• Borrowing money without consent, or transferring assets into someone else’s name or accounts, are financially abusive. 
• A power of attorney who makes insulting or demeaning comments, or suggests your family member is “not all there” is being psychologically abusive. 
• Denying food, heat, personal care, or withholding medications can be just as dangerous as physical abuse. 

Get Power of Attorney Legally in Ontario 

Create a power of attorney (or more than one) document at the same time as you write a new Will with Douglas Mills & Chapman. Already have a Will you’re satisfied with? We can prepare powers of attorney for property (finances) or personal care for a modest fee.

Waiting to assign power of attorney can cause long-term grief if you are suddenly incapacitated. When you make a power of attorney for property with your Will, you ensure your family, lawyer, accountant, or a trusted friend know where to turn when it comes to managing your banking, making investments, or everyday tasks like making mortgage payments.

Find a power of attorney lawyer near me. 

Your hygiene, diet, medication regime, and housing can all be handled by a power of attorney for personal care when you plan ahead. Instead of leaving the details to an Ontario court to sort out, you know in advance who will care for you if you become infirm. 

Get a Will and power of attorney for Ontario. 

Try Our Virtual Legal Services

No need to put off making your Will if time is an issue for you. Now you can access lawyers from your home or office, at times convenient for you.

Sign legal documents without leaving home. 

Your Douglas Mills & Chapman Wills and estates lawyer goes online with you anywhere in Ontario to draft new Wills and powers of attorney. Your Will is made using only secure, online video conferencing software. Once you’re satisfied with your basic Will, drop into any Douglas Mills & Chapman location in Greater Toronto Area or Ottawa to sign. We give you a copy for your records, and if desired, for a small, one-time fee we can keep the original in our Wills storage.

Your First Probate Consultation is Free!

Probating a Will doesn’t have to be painful. At Douglas Mills & Chapman, your first probate consultation is free. We help you apply for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee, and prepare simple documents for estate administration taxes.

What is a probate lawyer? 

Online or Phone Appointments for Wills or Probate

Make your own appointments using Douglas Mills & Chapman’s easy online booking form. Talk to a live operator to find lawyers for Wills or probate near you by phoning our 1-647-479-0118 lawyer line, or toll free to 1-788-000. Douglas Mills & Chapman has onsite parking and easy transit access to our Greater Toronto area or Ottawa law offices.

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Disclaimed inheritances likely won’t be the only pressure you’ll face as a newly appointed executor, personal representative, or estate trustee. As an aside, the terms essentially mean the same thing — you’ve agreed or applied to distribute a deceased’s estate. 

Disbursing Wills in Ontario

It’s on your shoulders now to:

• arrange the funeral, burial, or cremation
• locate and assess the value of personal possessions
• assess real property (homes, land, cottages, and other real estate)
• contact beneficiaries
• pay estate administration taxes in Ontario probate court
• prepare and submit final income taxes to Canada Revenue Agency
• contact and pay creditors
• protect assets — investing money, insuring and securing property
• disbursing the estate according to any last Wills and testaments.

Apply for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee in Ontario. 

Before you do all that, Douglas Mills & Chapman can file an application for certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a Will (or without). That will give you legal authority to act for the deceased.

The Rationale Behind Disclaimed Inheritances

Who refuses bequests or estate gifts anyway? 

It’s not unheard of. Disclaimed inheritances can arise when beneficiaries have emotional, moral, ethical, or financial reasons to decline assets. Taking a religious vow of perpetual poverty can result in disclaimed inheritances. Beneficiaries may dislike a deceased so much they refuse to accept gifts from their Will, or not want the high upkeep and repair costs from claiming real property.

What is probate — the seven steps you need to take. 

How about this: bankrupt beneficiaries could lose legal protections by accepting small financial or real estate bequests. So can those embroiled in civil lawsuits that may expose them to court applications to disclose newfound wealth.

Wills writers may be well intentioned, but when the recipient is on income assistance, inheritances can be a financial burden, severing them from ongoing financial support. Imagine assets with personal meaning to a beneficiary flowing to a disliked former spouse through property division during divorce. 

Some older beneficiaries may simply prefer to step aside to let disclaimed inheritances pass to children or grandchildren.

Coercion, Undue Influence, and Disclaimed Inheritances

All you really need to do is ensure the disclaimer is intentional.

Be wary if a beneficiary has diminished mental capacity because of age, ill health, or a disability. Douglas Mills & Chapman refers you to our trusted legal partners if you suspect beneficiaries are being coerced, bullied, or unduly influenced to give up a bequest. They can advise you on how to take legal action to protect a beneficiary’s right to overturn decisions made without their informed consent. 

You asked us how long does probate take in Ontario.

What to Do When an Inheritance is Refused

So what do you do next?

Unless Wills name an alternative beneficiary, disclaimed inheritances have the legal result of returning what has been renounced to the deceased’s estate residue. That residue (property or real estate not gifted to specific beneficiaries) increases the assets you have to distribute to others named in Wills. 

Questions to ask an Ontario probate lawyer. 

Your First Probate Consultation is Free!

With or without Wills, Douglas Mills & Chapman has probate lawyers near you. Your first probate consultation is free, and your final statement includes no hidden fees or surprises. Douglas Mills & Chapman’s probate services for Ontario Wills are all-inclusive.

Why having a lawyer make your last Will and testament matters. 

Your virtual probate lawyer can prepare your application for certificate of appointment of estate trustee without a Will or with. You’ll be expected by a probate court to file an estimate of the estate’s worth, and pay estate administration taxes upfront. 

Douglas Mills & Chapman may be able to file a court application to dispense with administration bonds if you are an out of province or out of country executor. Ask us how to proceed if that applies to you. We answer all your questions about what is probate and how long does probate take in Ontario in 2021. 

Hiring a probate lawyer near me.

Get Affordable Legal Services Anywhere in Ontario 

Douglas Mills & Chapman’s virtual lawyers for Wills or probate services are available when you are. You can access lawyers through our remote video conferencing software anywhere in Ontario. 

Signing legal documents (Ontario) using virtual probate lawyers.  

Making new Wills is no big deal when you use Douglas Mills & Chapman. Our Wills lawyers are quick and affordable. You pay low flat fee rates, and can drop into any Douglas Mills & Chapman location near you to sign. See how to write a basic Will for less. 

In-person appointments are available at Douglas Mills & Chapman offices in Greater Toronto Area or Ottawa. We have flexible appointments at locations convenient to you. Google ‘find probate lawyers near me Douglas Mills & Chapman’ for our virtual locations in Ontario.

Book Wills or Probate Lawyers Today

Douglas Mills & Chapman’s easy online booking form allows you to make appointments in minutes. Or phone our 1-647-479-0118 lawyer line (toll free to 1-788-000) for our Greater Toronto Area or Ottawa law offices, or virtual lawyer services using secure, online software. Douglas Mills & Chapman has onsite parking, and easy transit access.

The post Dealing with Disclaimed Inheritances in Ontario appeared first on Douglas Mills & Chapman.

That’s what unfolded in 2017, when a British Columbia man involved in drugs and gangs died.  He left behind an estate alleged to be the result of illicit activities, and a common law spouse his other wife didn’t know about.

Wills law decides who gets the estate in B.C. Douglas Mills & Chapman can advise you who gets the estate in Ontario.

Why a handwritten Will can be invalid. 

Living Common Law and Who Gets the Estate

Who gets the estate in the case of a common law partner can only be described as murky legal waters. Two kids and 12 years after they met, his first wife was about to get the shock of a lifetime.

Michael Widner’s children from his relationship with soon-to-be legally married wife Sabrina were born in 2005 and 2006. The couple wed in 2008. Barely a year had gone by when the biker met Sara. So began his double life, juggling Sabrina and his first kids with common law spouse Sara and their two kids, born in 2014 and 2015.

The industrious father supported both families well.  Although Sara knew there was someone else, she assumed he would one day divorce and legally marry her. Sabrina was completely in the dark.

Marital myths every Ontario spouse should know about. 

Wills and Estates, and a Wife’s Predicament

Had Widner married Sara, he would have been a bigamist. But he wasn’t, and that meant Sara met the legal definition of common law spouse in B.C. The couple had lived together in a marriage-like relationship for two or more years. When Widner wasn’t with Sabrina, he was with her.

What to do when there is no Will. 

Thus, when Widner died oddly (as bikers often do), Sara applied to the B.C. court for a share of his estate. Sabrina fought back, arguing a deceased can’t have two concurrent spouses under B.C.’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act. But could he?

When There Are Two Wills, Which One is Valid?

The court agreed with Sara. Clearly, the B.C. Act provided for all spouses at the time of death to share in an estate.

Widner didn’t have two Wills. In fact, he had none at all, dying intestate without a Will. Owing to his unusual “career”, Widner also had no tangible (cashable) assets. What happened next favoured his common law spouse and children, to Sabrina’s chagrin.

The court clawed back $150,000 in cash payments Widner had made to Sabrina’s two mortgages (properties held in her name only), and divided it equally between the two spouses.  

Probate multiple Wills in Ontario. 

Who Gets the Matrimonial Home on Death of a Spouse (Ontario)

Could the same happen under Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act? Every case is unique, and the Widner case is not a binding legal precedent. Nevertheless, common law spouses in Ontario have no property rights unless they are directly on title to a property, or a beneficiary in a Will.

What Ontario estate law does allow is for dependency claims, or if you supported your spouse (financially, by caring for children, or keeping their home for instance), an action of unjust enrichment. 

Your right to the matrimonial home in Ontario. 

Why You Need an Douglas Mills & Chapman Probate Lawyer

Douglas Mills & Chapman’s probate lawyer service helps you complete the probate application. Your first probate consultation is free. 

Hiring an Ontario probate lawyer. 

First, let’s get your Wills in order. If you haven’t made a Will by now, you could be jeopardizing the financial well-being of spouses or children you love. It’s never too soon to start planning your Will, or to replace a handwritten (holographic) Will with a professional Will from an Douglas Mills & Chapman Wills lawyer.

Dying intestate leaves your estate up in the air. Former spouses, disliked family members, or distant relatives with almost no contact with you could apply for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee without a Will. Their involvement could interfere with plans you made with a legally married spouse, common law partner,  or even your children before you died intestate.

Drafting a basic Will with Douglas Mills & Chapman. 

Ontario probate courts can only act on the information before them. When you die without a Will, they rely on relatives or others to come forward to represent you in a certain order, or assign a court-appointed representative to administer your estate. Instead of assets flowing as quickly as possible to beneficiaries, your estate and family may be left up in the air indefinitely.

Douglas Mills & Chapman Wills and estates lawyers draft new Wills every time your personal circumstances change.

Save when you make a mirror Will with your spouse. 

Our Low Flat Fees for Mirror or Individual Wills

Keep your family (or both of them) safe by drafting a new Will every time your personal circumstances change. Marriage, separation, a new common law spouse, or children on the way are reason enough to update your Will, or make mirror Wills with a partner.

Access lawyers for affordable Wills and estates matters. Douglas Mills & Chapman has Wills lawyers in Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa, and virtual lawyer services throughout Ontario. Our flat fee legal services keep making new Wills fast and affordable.

Basic Wills are just $199.99 and up plus HST — $149.99 and up plus HST each when you and your spouse or common law partner make mirror or individual Wills at the same appointment.  

Phone for Appointments or Go Online Today

Douglas Mills & Chapman Wills and estates lawyers or probate lawyers make remote, virtual video calls anywhere in Ontario. Book via Internet with our online booking form. Or dial our 647-479-0118 lawyer line, toll free to 877-402-4277, to speak to a live operator for the most convenient dates and times for you. We connect you to our virtual lawyer service for remote Wills and estates or probate lawyer consultations.

Headed to Ottawa or Greater Toronto Area? Drop by our open law offices  to make appointments. We have locations nearby you with onsite parking, and easy transit access.

The post Two Wives, No Will – Who Gets the Estate appeared first on Douglas Mills & Chapman.

1.  Find and Value Assets.

Antiques, collectibles, cars, real estate, memorabilia, jewelery, investments, family photos — it could take months to go through everything. Don’t hesitate to hire appraisers, real estate agents, antique dealers or movers to inventory and store the deceased’s assets. As long as they’re reasonable, all your expenses can come out of the estate. Keep a copy of appraisals for your records in case heirs or the court ask. Investments may take special handling to keep income flowing while you settle the estate. Cancel benefits like pensions and health insurance, plus credit cards. Check insurance policies are up to date and lock the door behind yourself.

2.  Communicate With Heirs.

If you can locate the major beneficiaries, they may be able to put you in touch with other heirs. A video call or phone conference can allow you to introduce yourself, if you’re not next-of-kin, and set out a realistic timeline for next steps to settle the estate. Don’t over commit. It may come back to haunt you (see step 7). Give beneficiaries your email address so they can contact you with questions or to get an update on your progress. 

3.  Go to Probate Court.

Get a probate lawyer to help you with your application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will (or without a will, if the deceased died intestate). You can apply to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice where the deceased lived or owned property. You’ll need to know their address, marital status, assets and approximate value. Estate administration taxes are due when you apply. They vary, depending on the size of the estate. You may pay nothing at all if the estate is under $50,000. Your lawyer can advise you on the other documents you’ll need.

4.  Discharge Debts and Taxes.

Debts and taxes just never seem to go away. It’s no different when you probate an estate. Posting a notice to creditors and claimants online or in local newspapers can help you identify outstanding debts. You can pay off debts that seem valid or get legal advice if you have questions. As for taxes, that’s between you, an accountant and the Canada Revenue Agency. 

5.  Distribute the Estate.

So the fun begins. After debts and taxes are paid, what’s left and gifts can be distributed to heirs. See you in court later if it doesn’t go the way you or they hoped.

6. Collect Your Fee. 

Managing all that money responsibly can be taxing. Ontario’s Trustee Act allows estate trustees to be paid fair and reasonable fees of up to 5% of an estate’s value, plus expenses. You can apply to court for special management fees if the estate was complex, involved legal action or took way longer than expected (years not months).

7. Pass the Accounts.

You know you’re honest, but if the beneficiaries believe their inheritance was mishandled, they may apply to Ontario probate court to have you pass the accounts. Anyone with a financial interest in the estate, heir or not, can request it. 

Delays administering the estate, not communicating with heirs or billing too much for expenses or estate management fees can find you in court. Not to mention the trouble you could get yourself into selling assets for less than they are worth, treating heirs or creditors unfairly or siphoning money off the books for your own purposes (but we won’t go there).

Estate trustees who manage money for minors or mentally incapable heirs must provide an accounting to the court, guardians and the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee or Ontario Children’s Lawyer. “Unascertained” beneficiaries, such as grandchildren yet to be born, or “contingent” beneficiaries like charities that inherit if the primary beneficiary is unable to are also owed an accounting of how the estate is being administered.

Of course, you can be proactive and voluntarily submit your accounts. Proving you acted in the estate’s best interests benefits you in the end, especially if your fees are in question. Probate court can order you to return money to the estate if you made missteps along the way.

Well that was a bit more complicated than you thought it would be. We didn’t say it would be easy, but it will be an experience. Stay positive!

Video Advice on Probating an Ontario Estate 

Douglas Mills & Chapman’s Ontario probate lawyers can advise you on making an application to Ontario probate court. Remote video call appointments let you talk to a licensed probate lawyer from anywhere in Ontario. Call 1-877-522-9377 or in Greater Toronto 647-479-0118 or use our online booking form to make an appointment. Virtual video calls can be made 7 days a week, day or evening, at times that suit your schedule. In-person meetings are available at our Ottawa, Toronto, Scarborough, Vaughan, Etobicoke, Mississauga Winston Churchill or Mississauga Heartland law offices.

Click here to learn more about Douglas Mills & Chapman’s probate law services.

Photo by Maike und Björn Bröskamp|Pixabay.

The post Seven Step Probate Process appeared first on Douglas Mills & Chapman.

Probate or Prostrate

Struggles over family heirlooms are why probate courts exist. If your family is being torn apart over an “unfair” gift, you have options. Going to Ontario Superior Court of Justice to contest the deceased’s last will and testament is one of them. Will you probate or prostrate?

Having a Will Approved by Probate Court

Probate court ensures the deceased actually wrote the will and signed it without being coerced, bullied or influenced. It protects everyone’s interests by clearing up any uncertainty that the will was their last and and that it ticks all the required boxes for formal wills. It also confirms who the estate trustees (executors or personal representatives, it’s all the same thing) will be. Taxes owing the province on the estate’s value — the estate administration tax — are paid at the same time. 

But Is the Will Valid?

Personal wills can be invalid for many reasons. A conflict of interest for witnesses, a suspicious signature that could be forged or missing pages may all cause a will to be rejected by the court. A will signed by a single witness at a patient’s hospital bedside in 2000 got a fail. Unless a will is completely handwritten (called a holographic will), two witnesses’ signatures are usually needed. Likewise, an Ontario will with a “basket clause” was overturned in 2017 for giving the executor the power to decide what assets to include, after the will writer or “testator” was gone. It was too uncertain for the court to accept.

What Kind of Will is This?

The family that prays or plays together, stays together, so they say. But will that be true after the will is read? An elderly testator’s will may come under serious challenge in probate court. Whether or not you think they were of sound mind, can you prove it? Mental capacity is a game changer in probate court and can bring a will’s whole contents or parts into question. Probate court judges are objective bystanders. What better place to dispute who said what.

Stopping the Claims Clock

The clock for creditors’ and dependents’ claims can start running from the date a probate application is approved. Applying for probate stops the clock — at six months for dependents’ claims for financial support and two years for most other legal claims. Advertising the testator’s death online or in local newspapers can help estate trustees avoid having to pay  the deceased’s debts out of their own pocket by setting a concrete deadline for receiving creditors’ claims. It’s just another good reason to probate an estate.

Confirming the Estate Trustees

Who distributes the estate can be in dispute, if the heirs have their way. Most wills name an estate trustee or alternates. But when a will doesn’t or the heirs disagree with the choices, it’s up to probate court to decide. The certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will proves the executors’ legal authority or right to act for the deceased.

When There is No Will and No Trustee

Since the estate trustees distribute what’s in the will, not having a will is a legal headache. Heirs must either go off to probate court to get a certificate of appointment of estate trustee without a will or let the Province of Ontario make decisions about where their loved one’s property and possessions go. (That might not go well.) 

When the Trustee Dies Without an Alternate

“Arnie” appoints his devoted spouse of 50 years to be his sole estate trustee. But months after Arnie dies, his grieving spouse has a fatal heart attack. The shock is simply too much. Now what? It’s up to the surviving next-of-kin, or a family friend if there aren’t any, to go to an Ontario probate court to be appointed in the spouse’s place. If there genuinely isn’t anyone who can or will step into the estate trustee’s shoes, the court can appoint a public administrator to wind up the estate.

Who’s Guarding the Guardian?

Excellent point. Handling all those assets can be tempting for light fingered executors. Probate courts keep tabs on what assets the deceased had and where they went. Estate trustees swear an affidavit verifying they are telling the truth about the size of the estate and its value. That allows the court can order an audit if the estate information return, filed within 180 days of the probate application being approved, varies significantly from what the trustee declared.

Get Advice to Probate an Ontario Estate

If you’re debating whether to probate an estate, talk to Douglas Mills & Chapman’s Ontario probate lawyers. They can arrange a certificate of appointment of estate trustee for you. Dial 1-877-522-9377 or in Greater Toronto 647-479-0118 or use our online booking form to make an appointment for a remote video call. We’re available via video conference 7 days a week, day or evening, at your convenience. In-person meetings can be arranged in Ottawa, Toronto, Scarborough, Vaughan, Etobicoke, Mississauga Winston Churchill or Mississauga Heartland.

Click here to learn more about Douglas Mills & Chapman’s probate law services.

Photo by  Pexels |Pixabay.

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