Turning Point Law

02/15/2024

A reminder to make sure your estate plan is current.

Find out if your client is subject to the requirements

06/01/2020

Paul McLaughlin's new role:

After an illustrious 46-year career as a lawyer and practice management advisor, Paul McLaughlin, our founding partner, has withdrawn from day-to-day involvement in Turning Point Law.

Paul graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1974. He started in private practice in Hamilton and Dundas, Ontario, then moved to Alberta in 1981 as a corporate counsel for Shell Canada Resources Ltd. He returned to private practice in Calgary, then joined the Practice Advisors Office at the Law Society of Alberta, where for 15 years, he assisted lawyers with practice management, procedural and ethical advice.

Paul had long dreamed of setting up a high tech, highly personalized wills and estates boutique, so he left the Law Society in 2005 to establish Turning Point Law with his son, Andrew. Together, they spent 15 wonderful years building Turning Point Law, with Paul passing on as much as he could of his vast legal knowledge to Andrew. However, it is now time for him to move into the background, though he will continue to support Turning Point Law in an "of counsel" role.

Paul calls himself a "starfish lawyer". When asked to explain, he tells the story of a man walking with his granddaughter by the sea. There has been a storm and thousands of starfish are littering the beach. The little girl is picking them up and throwing them back into the water one at a time. The man asks, "Why are you bothering? There are so many starfish on the beach, it won't make any difference." She holds up a stranded starfish and says, "It'll make a difference to this one."

Paul likes to think he may not have "cleared the beach", but he made a difference to a lot of starfish.

03/14/2020

The health and safety of our clients and staff is the utmost importance to Turning Point Law.

This post is to let you know what we are doing to keep everyone safe as we manage COVID-19 together. These measures are based on information from Alberta Health Services and include:

• Maintaining a social distance between clients and staff, including implementing a no hand shake policy.

• Regularly disinfecting high-touch surfaces, particularly areas that clients use.

• Requiring staff to clean hands regularly.

• Directing any staff who have family members who are infected to self-isolate and follow the protocol outlined by Alberta Health Services.

• Holding meetings with clients online and by phone (were possible).

If you have symptoms like a dry cough, fever, fatigue or difficulty breathing, we ask that you stay at home and call Health Link 811. We will not be charging for postponed or cancelled appointments during the outbreak.

Finally, for more information, the Alberta Health Services website is https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx

Andrew

Learn about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and actions being taken to protect the health of Albertans.

03/06/2020

If you need a "no contest" clause in a Will, Turning Point Law can ensure it is properly drafted.

Decision may encourage more frequent use of these clauses in wills, estate practitioners say

03/02/2020

Presenting on estate planning to teachers

08/21/2019

Congratulations from the team at Turning Point Law 😀

"Just be nice to each other."

09/12/2018

When you provide funds to enable your kids to buy a home, is it a loan or a gift? We have a new link to an article on our website that explores the issues: https://www.turningpointlaw.ca/links-to-articles.

At Turning Point Law, you get peace of mind through carefully drafted succession documents and help with estate administration.

05/04/2018

We just added another article to our website - www.tplaw.ca - on the pros and cons of surrendering US citizenship. It's not as easy as saying, I don't want to be an American. But it's the only way for American citizens (even if they are dual Canada/US citizens) to get out of the crushing embrace of the IRS.

Go to the Resources/Articles page on our website.

At Turning Point Law, you get peace of mind through carefully drafted succession documents and help with estate administration.

04/27/2018

We just added a case to our website - www.tplaw.ca - where an executor with an exaggerated sense of his business acumen was held personally financially liable for mismanaging and depleting the estate by investing in high-risk investments and failing to file tax returns. The lesson for executors is, it's not your money.🤨

03/23/2018

We just added a new case and article to the resources tab on our website - www.tplaw.ca. A lawyer's client had a severe heart attack from which there was no prospect of recovery. The lawyer took it upon herself to bring court proceedings for an injunction to block the family's decision to permit organ harvesting and removal of life support. The Ontario Court of Appeal held that since the lawyer had no instructions to bring the application, she was penalized by having to pay over $30,000 in costs personally.

At Turning Point Law, you get peace of mind through carefully drafted succession documents and help with estate administration.

03/05/2018

We just posted a new case on our website dealing with the entitlement of a beneficiary of a specific gift in a will to receive interest at 5% per annum starting one year after the death of the person who made the will. For this and much more content, check out our Resources page:
https://www.tplaw.ca/Resources