Leaving an estate

I just completed a seven-column series about setting up your affairs so your wealth doesn’t pass through your estate upon your death. I was...

tuesday 2

Paul Hergott

Estate planning tips

A reader challenged me to share advice about how to protect loved ones from what he called “legal terrorism”. He said he endured a horrible legal...

03.11.2025 6

Paul Hergott

Trusts and estate planning

A reader shared a horrific story about a fight over his father’s estate and demanded to know why I was not telling people they can avoid all those...

27.10.2025 6

Paul Hergott

Joint property ownership

This is the fifth column in a series about avoiding probate, prompted by a challenge from a reader who believes that lawyer “estate chasers” are...

22.10.2025 2

Paul Hergott

Jointly owned property

A reader shared he was left “victimized, terrorized and traumatized” from what he referred to as eight years of “legal terrorism” related to a...

13.10.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Advantages of joint tenancy

Legal fights over estates are horrifically expensive and can tear families apart. This is the third in a series of columns explaining how to eliminate...

06.10.2025 2

Paul Hergott

Avoiding probate fees

A reader challenged me to write about avoiding probate, which he identified as the evil that led him to suffer years of legal “terrorism,” going...

29.09.2025 3

Paul Hergott

Avoiding probate

I welcome reader feedback, including harsh feedback. Similar to using the term “ambulance chasers” as an insulting way to refer to personal injury...

22.09.2025 2

Paul Hergott

Wills and stepchildren

Is your will worth the paper it’s printed on? Maybe not if you’re in a blended family. I am contacted periodically by stepchildren who have been...

15.09.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Being a will's executor

My topic two weeks ago was how lucrative executor work can be. There’s another side to that coin. First, a reminder of why executor work can be...

08.09.2025 4

Paul Hergott

A will's executor

Last week, I wrote about how lucrative acting as an executor can be, noting it’s a job that doesn’t require formal qualifications or experience. I...

01.09.2025 10

Paul Hergott

A well-paid job

Do you know how lucrative acting as an executor can be? It’s a unique job. You can be appointed with no formal qualifications and no experience...

25.08.2025 7

Paul Hergott

DIY change to property title

Don’t pay a lawyer or notary to remove your deceased spouse’s name from title to your home which you own together as joint tenants. If you want to...

18.08.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Changing your will

I am following through on my promise to provide do-it-yourself guidance about how to make changes to a will. I’ll start with a basic British...

11.08.2025 7

Paul Hergott

Accounting for previous gifts

Question from a reader: “Just a quick question - the ledger of prior gifts given to children and referred to in the will - is there a requirement...

04.08.2025 5

Paul Hergott

Equal inheritances

Last week I compared two mechanisms for equalizing children’s inheritances where one (or more) of the children received a financial gift during a...

28.07.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Equalizing inheritances

Hotchpot or a loan, which is the better way to equalize your children’s inheritances? I’ll start with the hotchpot option. The word “hotchpot”...

21.07.2025 8

Paul Hergott

Dividing up your estate

How can you divide your wealth equally between your children at your death if you gave them different levels of financial support while you were...

14.07.2025 10

Paul Hergott

No undue influence

It’s icky, the thought of cozying up to a vulnerable senior for the purpose of becoming a beneficiary of their will. But there’s a flip side to...

07.07.2025 8

Paul Hergott

Undue influence and wills

I introduced the subject of undue influence last week with the case of an 84-year-old woman who the bulk of her approximately $1 million estate to a...

30.06.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Undue influence and wills

A salacious news story this past week, about an 84-year-old woman leaving her estate to a much younger male prostitute, caught my eye. The few facts I...

23.06.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Wills and blended families

Last week, I encouraged adult children to talk to their parents about their eventual inheritance. It can feel like a selfish and cringy topic. But in...

16.06.2025 9

Paul Hergott

The tax impact of dying

Have you talked to your parents about your eventual inheritance? No? Does the mere thought of it feel unbearably uncomfortable, especially if you...

09.06.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Will accessibility

Do you know where your original will is? Does your executor know where it is? Is it easily accessible? You can save your beneficiaries significant...

02.06.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Changing your will

This may come as shock for some but wills are not permanent. It’s reasonable if you thought they were, with all the pomp and circumstance around...

26.05.2025 7

Paul Hergott

Keeping your will in place

I regularly advise people, “Your will is fine. It doesn’t need to be updated”. While debunking misunderstandings about the need to update wills,...

19.05.2025 8

Paul Hergott

Planning contingencies

Life’s curve balls can mess with the best-intentioned plans. Take Peter, whose wife Irene has dementia. Irene has always looked after the family’s...

12.05.2025 7

Paul Hergott

Power of attorney tips

I ended my column last week with the warning that not all powers of attorney are the same. They can be as simple as a one-page form or quite...

05.05.2025 9

Paul Hergott

Power of attorney reviewed

Reader feedback prompted this follow-up to last week’s column. The accused me of giving inaccurate information and poor advice. No hard feelings to...

28.04.2025 6

Paul Hergott

Creating a power of attorney

Does a power of attorney survive a cost benefit analysis? Maybe not for a young person. Nailing down the cost end of the analysis would require...

21.04.2025 5

Paul Hergott

Value of using a lawyer

How about you save yourself the few bucks for that online form and write out a simple will on a piece of paper. My column, published March 3, 2024,...

14.04.2025 5

Paul Hergott

Disinheriting a child

Thank you to the readers of this column for their patient suffering through five columns in a row about how to obtain an estate grant. I’ll conclude...

07.04.2025 9

Paul Hergott

Reasons for using a lawyer

My wife took an online sourdough course in early 2000, just before the pandemic hit. I’ve survived five years of continuous fresh sourdough loaves...

31.03.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Probate bloopers

Everyone loves bloopers--and the higher they are, the harder they fall. I shouldn’t put myself on a pedestal but surely a lawyer wouldn’t make...

24.03.2025 8

Paul Hergott

DIY probate

Can an estate grant be obtained without a lawyer? It’s a little tricky, but absolutely. This is the third column in a series providing practical...

17.03.2025 10

Paul Hergott

Dealing with probate

This is the second part of a series about applying for an estate grant, which most people refer to as “probate”. My goal is to help those...

10.03.2025 6

Paul Hergott

Looking for the will

The Sound of Music is one of my favourite movies. It’s up there with The Princess Bride. In the sound of Music, one of the scenes has Maria teaching...

06.03.2025 10

Categories

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Leaving an estate

Paul Hergott

Estate planning tips

Paul Hergott

Trusts and estate planning

Paul Hergott

Joint property ownership

Paul Hergott

Jointly owned property

Paul Hergott

Advantages of joint tenancy

Paul Hergott

Avoiding probate fees

Paul Hergott

Avoiding probate

Paul Hergott

Wills and stepchildren

Paul Hergott

Being a will's executor

Paul Hergott

A will's executor

Paul Hergott

A well-paid job

Paul Hergott

DIY change to property title

Paul Hergott

Changing your will

Paul Hergott

Accounting for previous gifts

Paul Hergott

Equal inheritances

Paul Hergott

Equalizing inheritances

Paul Hergott

Dividing up your estate

Paul Hergott

No undue influence

Paul Hergott

Undue influence and wills

Paul Hergott

Undue influence and wills

Paul Hergott

Wills and blended families

Paul Hergott

The tax impact of dying

Paul Hergott

Will accessibility

Paul Hergott

Changing your will

Paul Hergott

Keeping your will in place

Paul Hergott

Planning contingencies

Paul Hergott

Power of attorney tips

Paul Hergott

Power of attorney reviewed

Paul Hergott

Creating a power of attorney

Paul Hergott

Value of using a lawyer

Paul Hergott

Disinheriting a child

Paul Hergott

Reasons for using a lawyer

Paul Hergott

Probate bloopers

Paul Hergott

DIY probate

Paul Hergott

Dealing with probate

Paul Hergott

Looking for the will

Paul Hergott