News & Resources

One of the biggest barriers to passing a cottage to your children is affordability and more specifically property taxes. If transferring a cottage isn’t done in certain ways, the property taxes will be adjusted to the current value (or “uncapped” as we call it). This could result in a small change, but it more often

More than half of people in the United States give to charitable and faith-based organizations during their lives. However, it’s estimated that less than 10% leave a portion of their estate to these organizations when they pass away. It’s not known why there’s such a difference between these two time periods. Regardless of the reason,

There are a variety of ways to financially support charitable organizations and their causes. The most common are giving cash and making out a check. But, other options (i.e. giving appreciated investments like stock, mutual funds, and real estate) are often better for income tax purposes. Business owners have another option because they own privately

If the situation and relationship dynamics allow, I generally advise clients that want to choose co-trustees to administer their trust to allow them to act independent of one another. That way, the co-trustees can determine who should handle each task and work more efficiently. They can divide and conquer the tasks of selling real estate,

You have weighed the options and decided a trust makes sense for your estate planning goals. The most important thing you will consider when it comes to your trust is, “who to name as trustee”. A trustee is the person who is obligated to administer the trust, and make sure the instructions expressed in the

Haans Mulder and Jessica Arends presented a seminar via Zoom on how to have tough conversations with parents or loved ones. Many times a parent will say, “it’s all taken care of” when asking about legal documents, health, and housing wishes. If more information was shared and crucial conversations were held, it could ease the

COVID has exposed or reminded us of a number of difficult truths and one of them is the fragility of our health. We don’t know when we’ll have serious health issues or pass away. You can proactively help your family or loved ones by setting up an estate plan that gives them a legal roadmap

Attorney: Who would you like to make medical decisions for you if your spouse is unable to? Client: Can I name all my children to act together? It is difficult to identify the person to place this great responsibility on. I often remind clients that although the person they select may feel honored that they

Summer is the season for cottages and enjoying lakes. Cottages are places where family and friends enjoy time together and create memories. For many families, cottages are an important part of their relationships and as their children get older, they eventually come back with their own kids. It becomes an experience that can be enjoyed