Law

Odds are you have a Facebook page, or you’ve been asked ad nauseam why you don’t. Social media — in particular, sites such as Facebook and Twitter — are exploding across the Web, not just for personal use but increasingly for professional and business purposes.

If you’re not careful, they could be used for legal purposes as well.

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Divorce is often very difficult for everyone involved. You and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse are probably pushed to the limit regardless of whether you’re parting amicably or whether you’re at each other’s throats. There are so many things to consider, and even if the divorce is initiated on good terms, you’re both starting a new chapter in your life — in itself more than enough stress.

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If you are the executor or administrator of an estate, taking account of the assets of a recently deceased loved one can get very complicated. Moving residences prior to death or incomplete financial records can mean hidden assets where you, as the executor, might not expect them.

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No one wants to think that his or her relationship may someday end. However, in what's now often said to be more than 50 percent of cases, marriages and common-law marriages alike simply don't last "until death do you part."

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After the loss of a spouse, an older parent may rely on a grown-up child to look after his or her routine banking chores. To make it is as easy as possible for the child, the parent may change a bank account that's in his or her name alone into a joint account with the child. This simple arrangement, called a joint account of convenience, can work well while the parent is alive, but what happens to the money in that joint account when the parent dies?

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Imagine for a moment you have been appointed executor of someone’s estate, and he or she passes away. Do you know what to do? Where will the deceased's things go? Where do you even start? Or, perhaps you are writing your will and you need to decide who to appoint as executor; here are some things to consider regarding this important post.

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I recently read articles in North American and European publications about companies offering a service of storing your passwords and other information relating to your online life, together with your instructions about their disposition if you die. Is this a good idea...

To answer this question we assume that you are applying for an uncontested divorce and are not seeking a divorce on grounds of cruelty or adultery. For a divorce to be uncontested, you and your spouse must have agreed on the details of any of the key issues that apply to you (custody, access, and support), and that there are no other issues (such as division of assets) which you and your spouse disagree on or are asking the court to settle for you...

UPDATED JULY 5 and 24: The procedure to apply for a divorce in British Columbia was changed effective July 1st, 2010, when new Supreme Court Family Rules came into effect in the province. The changes affect the forms and procedures used in applying for an uncontested divorce...

Should you appoint a foreign executor?

There is no law saying that you cannot appoint a foreign executor in your will but there are two good reasons that make it a bad idea in most cases.

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