The LinkedIn group I started about a year ago for Canadian Wills and Estates Professionals has now reached 200 members! I've used this group twice to find contacts in other provinces for customers here in Alberta. Also, when I went to Toronto a few months ago for a Canadian Bar Association meeting, I met several people who recognized my name from the group so it's certainly good for raising a person's profile. Our members are mostly from Canada, but not exclusively. We have a few from the USA and the UK, and a sprinkling of others. Everyone is welcome, regardless of location, if they have an interest in Wills and Estates in Canada. Our members are lawyers, accountants, tax experts, financial planners, insurance professionals, trust officers, writers and people interested in elder law. We share news and discussions, and ask questions to get feedback from others. LinkedIn is free to join, as is the Canadian Wills and Estates Professionals group on that site, so click here if you'd like to check it out.
Hello there, I need some guidance on an estate of which I am one of seven beneficiaries. My Uncle and then my Aunt passed away in Victoria B.C., their will stated that since they had no children of their own that everything was to be left to their nieces, nephews and God Children of which there are seven. The first co-executor is my Uncles cousin(and brother in law)and business partner and the father of two of the beneficiaries, the second executor is the daughter of the aforementioned executor and herself a beneficiary. My Uncle,his Cousin,his Sister who married his cousin are all from Azores Portugal. My Aunt was my and my brother and sisters blood relative. My Uncle and Aunt built a little villa in the Azores, and vacationed there regularly and we heard they had a car their also and very likely kept a small bank account. We have received everything that we expected to receive from my Uncle and Aunts Canadian Assets, however that took excruciatingly long, and all payments were made after all beneficiaries other than the one who is also an executor rallied together, talked to the lawyer and the executors and demanded that they deliver. The lawyers sent out contracts asking us to wave all our claims on anything else discovered in the future in order to receive payments and all beneficiaries accepted this other than myself, they paid me any ways. After the house was sold we all received approximately what we were expecting of the Canadian Assets but were never given a concrete list of assets and their values. So we are all sort of Ok with the Canadian estate distribution. BTW my Uncle passed away approx five years ago and my Aunt very soon after a few months later.
ReplyDeleteSo now on to the Azores Assets, We have heard absolutely nothing about the Azores Assets other than excuses like:
The Portuguese government needs to translate the will and they take a very long time.European Rules of Succession are different, The Portuguese gov't needs to see and translate both your Uncle and Aunts death certificate. BTW, when my Uncle passed his mother in the Azores was still alive and under European law the de-facto beneficiary is the surviving parent, so she may have inherited the all Azores Assets and then bequeathed it to other children.
I have repeatedly asked for a simple list of the Azores assets and been denied or blown off, they will not even tell me the address of the villa in the Azores. We could have been renting out our shared property for five years now.
So here are my questions:
What is the cheapest way to "Audit" the handling of the estate? Is there a government agency that will do it for free?
What rites do executors have? Do we have a rite to see a list of all known assets in a timely manner? Including addresses, or which bank branch accounts are held at?
Is there a statue of limitations after which we will have lost our claim to the assets here or in Portugal?
How does Canadian law impose itself on Portuguese law? What if the Mother inherited everything etc?
If you have written a book that I should read please direct me to it.
Thank you very much.