Grandparents' rights in Alberta

Grandparents' rights have certainly come a long way in parts of Canada. A generation ago there was not much a grandparent could do when they were not able to see grandchildren because of the wishes of the parents. Grandparents often lost touch with precious grandchildren due to divorce and separation that had nothing to do with the grandparents.

This recent story in the Edmonton Journal talks about grandparents' rights to access to their grandchildren, and the changes to Alberta law that protect those rights. Click here to read it.

Trust but verify all charities

Click here to read this editorial from the Edmonton Journal about safely giving to charities. In my opinion, this advice applies not only to your regular charitable giving, but to the planned giving set up through your Will.

As for verifying the charities, one easy way to do that is to click on the link on the right hand side of my blog for the Canadian Donor's Guide, which lists charities both alphabetically and by topic. It gives addresses, charitable number and other information.

It's great to hear from so many people!

Apparently absolutely everyone in Edmonton reads the Edmonton Journal. The recent story about me and my book in the Business section of the Journal has resulted in a flood of phone calls and emails. Some people just want to ask where to buy the book, while others want to talk to me about their personal situation. Both kinds of calls are welcome, as are the calls from individuals who want to talk about how they and I can collaborate to find solutions for our customers. The best part of my work day is talking to people about estate planning and business succession planning, so please keep on calling!

The book can be ordered from:

Self-Counsel Press website
Chapters online
Amazon.ca website

Those of you who don't want to order online, stop in at Audrey's Books on Jasper Avenue or Greenwood's Bookshoppe in Old Strathcona. If you're not in Edmonton, ask at your nearest Chapters store.

Successful succession takes time - Edmonton Journal

Here is the link to today's Edmonton Journal interview with me about business succession planning. Hope you enjoy it!

Look for me in tomorrow's Edmonton Journal

Tomorrow there will be a feature on me and my second book (Succession Planning Kit for Canadian Business) on the front page of the business section of the Edmonton Journal. Please take a look. I'll post a link once it's published.

Rising number of dementia cases

The AlzheimerSociety has released a study called Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society. They refer to the present and future numbers of individuals suffering from dementia as "a dementia epidemic".

At present, 500,000 Canadians have dementia. The study predicts that within 30 years, there will be more than 1.1 million Canadians with dementia.

The study goes into quite a bit of detail about the incidence of dementia, its cost and its potential impact on long-term care facilities and health care resources. It's pretty frightening! Anyone working in the field of mental incapacity should have a look at it (the executive summary is about 20 pages).

If you'd like to see the study, click here.

The study was referenced in a story by Conal Pierse in today's Edmonton Journal. The woman who was the subject of the story, Chris Nelson, was diagnosed with dementia while looking after her ageing mother who also has dementia. Ms. Nelson makes a statement that people misunderstand the early stages of dementia and sometimes draw other conclusions about her behaviour, such as thinking she's lazy. I think she is right that people draw unfavourable conclusions about dementia sufferers.

If you'd like to read the Edmonton Journal story, click here.