Here you'll find media releases and coverage, as well as information for those covering the issues that are the subject of the book and website. For media, speaking engagements, webinars, and rights enquiries, please email me at [email protected].
MEDIA RELEASES/MEDIA COVERAGE
- August 28, 2024: Independent portfolio manager and author John De Goey interviews Barb about "How to Laugh at Death and Taxes," with a focus on "WADS APP."
- August 19, 2024: Book launch! See photos below
- July 31, 2024: To Heir Is Human... Inaugural newsletter edition
- June 20, 2024: “Is it better to have joint accounts with adult kids, or give them power of attorney?" (Carrick on Money, The Globe and Mail)
- May 1, 2024: Financial literacy expert Elizabeth Naumovski interviews Barb about "How to Laugh at Death and Taxes."
|
Book Launch!
To the left are the book's designers Ruth Dwight and Mary MacLean, with author/book midwife Akosua Brown; absent are illustrator Kelsey Power and artist Emy Harwood-Jones. |
|
Book Launch!
The author with financial literacy expert and TV host Elizabeth Naumovski; book cover illustration by Kelsey Power; colour image of estate management by Emy Harwood-Jones. |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
“One of the most antiquated and neglected areas of the law … based on both case law and legislation, … spread over a forest of different statutes, … much … quite old.” That's a description of succession law, governing the transfer of property following the owner’s death. (Source: Wills, Estates and Succession: A Modern Legal Framework, BCLI, Report 45, June 1, 2006, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1418749)
Almost 10 million Canadians – 1 in 4 – are over 60; those 60 and over more than doubled from 11% to 25% in the 50 years between 1971 and 2021. (Source: Population estimates on July 1st, by age and sex, Statistics Canada Table: 17-10-0005-01, 2021-09-29)
One quarter – 25% of Canadians – who don’t have a will say it’s because they don’t know where to start. (Source: Less than Half of Canadians Have a Will — And Many Don’t Even Know Where to Start, National Institute on Ageing and RBC Royal Trust, May 17, 2023)
Toronto-based research firm Strategic Insight projects the transfer of approximately $1 trillion in personal wealth from one generation to the next in Canada between 2016 and 2026.
While the number of Canadians with wills increased materially between 2016 and 2021 (likely due to the impetus of the pandemic, new and less costly online will-writing options, and ongoing messaging from financial, accounting, and legal advisors (as well as will-writing solution providers), there are still many Canadians and their beneficiaries who will lose out because there is no current will. Tim Hewson of LegalWills.ca says: “There is no circumstance whatsoever that benefits from not having a Will in place. The distribution of your estate will be determined by intestate laws that vary from province to province, and rarely match anybody’s true intentions. Furthermore, your executor appointment will be made by the courts, instead of by yourself. In addition, your assets will be frozen and you will put your family through a lengthy administrative process.” (Source: https://www.legalwills.ca/blog/will-survey/)
Estate and succession law, as well as tax and probate law, are becoming increasingly complex. The liability associated with being an executor is increasing.
“Getting probate documents off the internet isn’t always the best thing to do as they may not be current depending on where you go. Even if they’re the latest versions, they’re not easy for the layperson to understand. I just opened a file for someone who, after doing and submitting the probate forms themselves, got a two-page rejection memo from the registry citing all the missing and wrong information. Not all registries are consistent. Different registrars who check documentation can change, jurisdictions do things differently, and the way every province’s laws work is unique (let alone dealing with probate from different countries).” (Source: E-mail from paralegal, B.C.)
Executor woes are just beginning. A recent study found most Canadians have 150 or so online accounts. This includes digital and financial assets (banking, investment, mortgage, credit card, and other debt; LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram; etc. (Source: “How to help your clients pre-plan to address their digital assets – Will their treasures be lost when they die?” By Noelle Boughton, Investment Executive, August 9, 2022)