Alexander Holburn Associate Counsel Emma J. Ferguson, a member of the firm’s Wills + Estates practice group, was recently interviewed by The Globe and Mail for an article on how to protect an inheritance from the risk of separation or divorce. In addition to Emma, the article included quotes from financial planners based in Calgary and Ontario.
The article itself considers an important intersection of family law and estate planning. Family law across the country generally treats inheritances as an exemption from the division of assets during a divorce proceeding; but where inheritances are applied to a significant joint purchase – such as a first-time home purchase with a spouse – commingling inheritance funds to pay down a shared mortgage or other shared debt may expose the applied funds to division on the breakdown of the spousal relationship.
Read the full article here.
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