Blogs written by lawyers at Highlander Law Group in Tantallon, Nova Scotia for people in Halifax with an interest in Real Estate Purchase and Sale, Corproate, Litigation, Debt Collection, Divorce, Probate, Wills, Power of Attorney, Trusts, Child support, Spousal Support, Custody, Migration, Debt Collection, Builders Liens, Estate Planning, Trademarks, Copyright and other Intellectual Property issues. .
Many people believe that the court favours mothers in custody battles. However, this is not necessarily true. The court must do what is in the best interests of the child. In Nova Scotia, the court will try to keep the “status quo” for children whose parents are separating, as much as is possible.
Read MoreJane Doe purchased the property a number of years ago and is currently the sole owner. Several years remain on the mortgage. Jane wants to make sure her common law partner would become equal owner of the house, and would get it outright with as few complications as possible, if Jane died. Learn how to make it happen!
Read MoreIf there is a competent adult who is in any way interested in the estate, such as a next of kin, beneficiary under the Will or a creditor, the Public Trustee will generally prefer to renounce their ability to act as administrator or personal representative of an estate.
Read MoreOn October 6th Premier Houston announced that all Nova Scotia Public Servants must be vaccinated by November 30th. Premier Houston followed this announcement by urging private businesses to create their own vaccine mandates.
After these recent announcements on vaccine mandates you may wonder if your business needs a vaccine policy.
All businesses are different and there is not be a “one size fits all” policy that works for every business.
Read MoreMoving can be exciting, but can also be a stressful time. What day your closing date falls on can contribute to how smoothly the transaction goes. There are a lot of moving parts on closing day, and it’s better to be safe than sorry if something pops up that causes a delay. Potential issues could be, a delay in funds from your bank, a contentious issue on the walk-through etc.
Read MoreYour loved one has passed away and you now have to figure out how to handle their affairs. When a person has died, all of the assets that belong to them at the time of death is called their “estate”.
In some cases, if there is a Will, the executor can simply read through the Will and distribute the contents of the estate as outlined in the Will. In some cases, even if there is no Will, a friend or family member can organize and distribute the estate to the next of kin.
Read MoreOne of the things that incites the most anxiety when buying or selling a home is the money, who is handling it? Luckily for home buyers and sellers your trusted professionals help you in this department. Read on to learn the specifics of who does what.
Read MoreIn Nova Scotia real property is given an assessed value each year. The question is how do assessors arrive at that value, why are properties given an assessed value and what is that figure used for?
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When a person creates a Will in Nova Scotia the two main functions of the Will are to determine which assets each beneficiary will receive and to appoint the person who is in charge of following the instructions in the Will. The Executor is title given to the person whose job it is to follow the instructions in the Will.
Read MoreA common question we get when people contact us about starting the process of drafting their Will or estate planning is “What do I have to do before I come in?” The short answer is nothing. At our firm, when we help people with their estate planning we don’t require any sort of forms to be filled out in advance, nor do you have to compile a laundry list of bank account numbers or balances
Read MoreIn Nova Scotia, Probate is required if a person dies without a Will, if the Will is contested, or if there are assets within the estate which require probate (e.g. owning land or registered assets). Put simply, probate is the formal process where the court determines who will administer the estate, who the beneficiaries are, and which assets each beneficiary receives.
Read MoreHalifax has rolled out some major changes to By-Law N-300, also known as the Nuissance By-Law. These changes are in the form of a city-wide smoking ban. The By-Law amendments, also known as the “Respecting Smoking” amendments are in effect as October 15, 2018. They cover all smoking and vaping, including both tobacco and cannabis.
Read MoreSeparation and divorce create uncertainty, especially in the early stages. The question of where you, and any children involved, are going to live is one of the biggest long term and short term decisions that you will make. So now what? You are separating, the whole point is that you do not want to live together anymore. And what about the kids, they still have school, you do not want to disrupt their lives any more than they already are.
Read MoreQuite simply put, Notary Publics and Commissioner of Oaths are people who have been authorized by law to serve as an official witness to the signing of various legal documents. Notarizing a means that a Notary or Commissioner has taken the proper steps to verify your identity and then has witnessed your signing of a particular document. Afterwards they seal and sign the document to certify their witnessing of the signature.
Read MorePlacing a Builder’s Lien in Nova Scotia is an option available to contractors like roofers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers and carpenters who have done work to improve a property and are concerned that they are not going to get paid. A Builders’ Lien is not available in all circumstances, but the definition is pretty broad. You do not even have to have completed the work you contracted to do to place a Lien.
Read MoreThe Executor of an estate is appointed under the Will to “Administer” the estate. Some of the responsibilities of the Executor during the administration of the estate include:
Read MoreThe role of directors in a company and the liability they can incur by their actions is not often the subject of mainstream news reporting. It sometimes comes up when discussing corruption in large multinational companies. However, a recent local court decision has shone a light on this infrequently discussed topic.
Read MoreIn most cases, people can agree on the date of separation. When my clients ask me how to decide when they were separated I ask them when they stopped acting like a married couple. There is no one thing that marks a separation definitively (although one person moving out is usually a pretty good indication).
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I recently came across a story in the news highlighting the unfortunately common situation where a small business owner is facing financial disaster as a result of terms in their commercial lease they didn’t fully understand when they signed. Cash flow challenges are reality for most small business, particularly those in the start up phase. As a result, many view spending money to have a lawyer review what appears to be a standard lease is a luxury they can’t afford.
Read MoreThe average person knows that they have to have a lawyer to complete their real estate transactions - the real question is why? Here are some of the things your lawyer is doing for you:
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