Get along with your co-executor or it will cost you

Attention co-executors who are squabbling and fighting with each other. You know who you are.  You are probably siblings. Somebody made the ill-fated decision to ask you two to get along in the best interests of their estate, and it has fallen apart. One of you makes decisions about the estate without the other. One takes the other to court repeatedly on the slightest excuse, asking the court to remove the other, with accusations of lies and duplicity. One executor is bullying the other.

Well, you'd better figure out how to act like adults and get along.

In a new case from Alberta, the court slapped the bullying co-executor with big court costs. The court made it clear that co-executors have an obligation to try to resolve their differences amicably without resorting to the courts if at all possible. The estate suffers when co-executors behave badly and make the estate administration all about their personal issues. The court's message is to get along, or it will cost you. To read more about this case in a story from lawyer Chris Staples, click here.

Aging, siblings and the war in families

I've come to learn over the years that dealing with stressful matters like how to help an aging parent doesn't always bring out the best in people. But wouldn't you expect your siblings to chip in when everyone agrees to help support a parent financially? Click here to read an article from http://www.forbes.com/ that talks about that very situation.

Equal opportunity caregiving

Is it true that women shoulder more of the care of aging parents than men do? Apparently so! Click here to read this article from wowowow about why this happens and what you can do about it.