The Devil is in the Details

When I read this blog post about an American case where a tax-planning lawyer acted as full-time care-giver for his aging parents, all I could think was "ouch..." The post from lawyer Kyle Krull will demonstrate loudly and clearly why you have to formalize caregiving arrangements between family members. Click here to read the story.

Ex-wife inherits IRA - OUCH!

As much as estate-planning disasters make me wince in sympathy for both the deceased and the survivors, real-life examples are pretty vivid reminders of what not to do. This story from American lawyer Kyle Krull is one of those awful but instructive ones. Though the story is American, if you substitute "RRSP" for "IRA", the principles are identical here in Canada. Click here to read it (and I highly recommend that you do read it if you have an RRSP or RRIF and have been divorced).

Childless seniors forming families

I'm attaching a link to a blog post by lawyer Kyle Krull. The article is about how seniors who don't live in the old-fashioned nuclear family are starting to arrange their own "families" with each other for mutual support and companionship. So far I haven't met any clients who say they are doing this, but it's certainly a topic I'm hearing more and more about. I can see it gaining some real traction as it solves a lot of problems for a lot of people. Click here to read the article.

Compensating family caregivers

Even though there are tens of thousands of Canadians looking after their aging parents, there is a persisting viewpoint that this care should be given for free. Unfortunately, providing it for free means that the caregiver probably also has to continue working at a paying job at the same time, causing that person enormous pressure. Providing care for aging parents for a wage is just starting to gain acceptance, as I blogged about once before here (family care contracts).

In a recent article, Kyle Krull, an American lawyer, gives two very good reasons for entering into a formal agreement for a wage. I agree with both of his reasons. If you're providing care to a parent and are realizing that "something's got to give", this might help. Click here to read the article.