11.1 How to Find a Lawyer

All Ontario lawyers who offer their services to the public must be members of the Law Society of Upper Canada. The Law Society makes sure that lawyers meet professional standards and can discipline lawyers who fail to do so. The Law Society offers a number of services to help clients including a Lawyer Referral Service.

For more information on the Law Society of Upper Canada and its services:
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen St. W.
Toronto ON M5H 2N6
General Inquiries
Toll-free: 1-800-668-7380
Phone: 416-947-3300
TTY: 416-644-4886
Fax: 416-947-5263
E-mail: lawsociety@lsuc.on.ca
Complaints:
Toll-free: 1-800-268-7568
Phone: 416-947-3310
E-mail: comail@lsuc.on.ca
website: www.lsuc.on.ca/public/a/complaints

Lawyer Referral Service

 

The Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) of the Law Society of Upper Canada will give you the name of a lawyer who can work for you, including, specific needs such as:
a lawyer who

• speaks another language
• can communicate with someone who has a hearing impairment
• has a wheelchair-accessible office, or
• is licensed to practice in another geographic area, as well as Ontario.

The LRS is available Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phoning the LRS line will automatically generate a $6 charge on your phone bill, in the month following your call. The telephone number is 1-900-565-4577.

If you are jailed, under the age of 18 or are in a crisis situation such as domestic abuse, and require the services of a lawyer, call:
Toll-free: 1-800-268-8326
Phone: 416-947-3330

11.2 Legal Aid Ontario

Legal Aid Ontario provides a number of free services including court representation, legal advice or assistance with court documents.

Individuals who may qualify for Legal Aid include:

• people on social assistance, or with low or no incomes
• those who have little or no money left after paying for basic necessities, such as food and housing.

Employed people and homeowners may still qualify financially for assistance. Legal Aid staff will review your personal financial circumstances to decide if you qualify.

Legal Aid Ontario also operates Community Legal Clinics in many communities across Ontario. For a Community Legal Clinic in your area, look under “Legal Aid Ontario” in the White Pages of your telephone book, or contact:

Legal Aid Ontario
375 University Ave., Ste. 404
Toronto ON M5G 2G1
Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258
Phone: 416-979-1446
TTY Toll-free: 1-866-641-8867
TTY: 416-598-8867
Fax: 416-979-8669
E-mail: info@lao.on.ca
website: www.legalaid.on.ca

11.3 Advocacy Centre for the Elderly

The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) is a legal clinic, funded by Legal Aid Ontario, to provide legal services to low income seniors. ACE gives advice on seniors' legal issues such as elder abuse, health care consent, retirement homes, mental health, mental capacity, public pensions, long-term care facilities and homecare.

ACE can give advice over the telephone to persons anywhere in Ontario, but can only represent as clients, seniors living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). If you live outside the GTA, ACE will try to refer you to legal assistance in your own community, where available.

ACE also has a provincial mandate to provide public legal education programs and engage in law reform activities. Subject to availability, ACE can provide you with speakers and education materials on seniors' legal issues. ACE publishes a manual on long-term care law Long-Term Care Facilities in Ontario – The Advocates' Manual and has produced a video on Powers of Attorney.

Advocacy Centre for the Elderly
2 Carlton St., Ste. 701
Toronto ON M5B 1J3
Phone: 416-598-2656
website: www.acelaw.ca

11.4 Community Legal Education Ontario

Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) is a community legal clinic that produces free public legal education materials in clear language for people who have low incomes, disabilities and literacy challenges, and for others who are disadvantaged.

CLEO’s publications address issues in many areas of law, including social assistance, landlord and tenant, refugee and immigration, workers' compensation, criminal, consumer, family, health and disability, seniors, and youth law.

To view or print these publications, or for an online order form and list of new and revised publications, visit their website at www.cleo.on.ca, or call 416-408-4420 for an order form.

CLEO does not give legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please see a lawyer or a community legal clinic.

Community Legal Education Ontario
119 Spadina Ave., Ste. 600
Toronto ON M5V 2L1
Phone: 416-408-4420
Fax: 416-408-4424
E-mail: cleo@cleo.on.ca
website: www.cleo.on.ca

11.5 Ontario Human Rights Commission

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is an arms-length agency of the Government of Ontario. Discrimination is against the law in Ontario, and the commission administers and enforces Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

The Code provides the right to equal treatment in employment, accommodation, contracts, goods, services and facilities, and membership in vocational associations and trade unions, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, age, marital or family status, same-sex partnership status, sexual orientation, disability, the receipt of public assistance (accommodation only) or record of offences (employment only).

The Commission is responsible for managing inquiries, intake, mediation, and investigation of human rights complaints. If a case is not settled and the Commission believes discrimination has occurred, it may refer the complaint to the Board of Inquiry for a hearing.

The Commission also conducts public education and develops policies to help interpret the code. A Policy on Discrimination against Older Persons Because of Age was released in June, 2002. This document provides an in-depth look at age discrimination as it relates to present protections in the Human Rights Code. The Policy was developed to help the public and Commission staff to gain a better understanding of how the Code protects older Ontarians and to sensitize them to the issues faced by these persons. It also aims to raise awareness among service providers, employers and landlords of their obligations under the Code. For a copy of this document or more information:

Ontario Human Rights Commission
180 Dundas St. W., 8th Floor
Toronto ON M7A 2R9
Toll-free: 1-800-387-9080
Phone: 416-326-9511
TTY Toll-free: 1-800-308-5561
TTY: 416-314-6526
E-mail: info@ohrc.on.ca
website: www.ohrc.on.ca

11.6 Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) helps to protect the rights and interests of mentally incapable adults who have no one else to act on their behalf. The services available include:

• Property Guardianship
• Personal Care Guardianship
• Decisions About Treatment and Admission to Long-Term Care
• Guardianship Investigations
• Appointment of Private Guardians of Property
• Acting as Litigation Guardian
• Estates Administration.

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee also offers many useful information brochures which are available from their website:

• When the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee Becomes Your Guardian of Property
• Estates Administration
• The Role of the OPGT in Guardianship Investigation
• The Role of the OPGT in Providing Property Guardianship Services
• Becoming a Guardian of Property
• The Role of the OPGT in Making Substitute Health Care Decisions
• Powers of Attorney and “Living Wills” Some Questions and Answers.

Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee
595 Bay St., Ste. 800
Toronto ON M5G 2M6
Toll-free: 1-800-366-0335
Phone: 416-314-2800
Fax: 416-314-2698
website: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/pgt

Guardianship Investigations

This service helps to protect mentally incapable adults who are suffering, or at risk of suffering, serious harm. Severe self-neglect, physical abuse and financial exploitation of incapable people are some of the problems that this service can, in certain circumstances, help to resolve. Anyone may contact the OPGT, by telephone or mail, to express concerns about a person who may be incapable and at serious risk:
Guardianship Investigations Unit
Toll-free: 1-800-366-0335
Phone: 416-327-6348

Power of Attorney Kit

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee has produced a Power of Attorney Kit that will help you appoint the person you want to make decisions for you when you are no longer able to do so for yourself.
Many people believe that if something happens and they are unable to make decisions for themselves, their family can do so for them. This is not necessarily true. For financial decisions, legal authority is needed. You can give this authority by naming someone in a continuing power of attorney for property. For personal care decisions such as where you live or what you eat, you can give legal authority by naming someone in a power of attorney for personal care. For more information, see Advance Care Planning.

While it's very important to consider whether to make a power of attorney, you don't have to, and no one can make you sign one if you don't want to. However, if you don't make a power of attorney, someone may have to be formally appointed some day to make decisions for you.
To obtain a copy of the Power of Attorney Kit call:
Toll-free: 1-800-366-0335
Phone: 416-314-2800
website: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/pgt/poakit.asp

11.7 Advance Care Planning

Advance Care Planning is about making choices now, while you are capable, about how you wish to be cared for in the future if you become incapable of making decisions. Every year many Canadians become unable to make their own decisions about their personal care. You can take steps now, while you are capable, to both ensure your wishes are followed and provide someone you trust with the authority to act on your wishes.

The Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat (OSS) in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, has produced A Guide to Advance Care Planning to help seniors become more aware of the process of advance care planning. For a copy of the guide, visit the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat website at www.ontarioseniors.ca, or call the Seniors’ INFOline at 1-888-910-1999.

11.8 Organ and Tissue Donation

It is important to talk to your family and friends about your decision to donate organs and tissue so they can understand, support and respect your wishes in the future.

If you are 16 years of age or over, you can register your consent to donate your organs and/or tissue upon your death with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care which keeps a registry of donors. Complete an Organ Donor Registration form (form 3039-84) and submit it to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

You can obtain an Organ Donor Registration form by:

• visiting a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care office
• calling the Seniors’ INFOline
  Toll-free: 1-888-910-1999
  TTY Toll-free: 1-800-387-5559
• accessing the Organ and Tissue Donation section of the ministry’s website at www.health.gov.on.ca

After completing and signing the form, return it to your local ministry office or mail it to the address shown on the top of the form. You can change your registration to consent or withdraw at any time by using the Organ Donor Registration form.

You can sign a Gift of Life Donor Card and keep it with your personal identification. Give the tear-off part – Gift of Life Donor Notification Card –to your family or friend.

For more information on organ and tissue donation, contact Trillium Gift of Life Network at 1-800-263-2833, visit their website at www.giftoflife.on.ca, or call the Seniors' INFOline at:
Toll-free: 1-888-910-1999
TTY Toll-free: 1-800-387-5559
Access the Organ and Tissue Donation section of the ministry's website at www.health.gov.on.ca and www.healthyontario.com

11.9 Wills and Estates

Wills

A will is a document in which you, the "testator", indicate how your assets should be distributed upon your death. In a will, you can provide for the welfare of your family, distribute assets as you think best, and appoint an executor, also known as an estate trustee, to manage the estate. Wills also may help you save taxes by taking advantage of tax-savings opportunities and tax deferrals that may arise as a result of your death.

If You Die Without a Will

If you die and have not prepared a will, your estate is divided up according to the rules in the Succession Law Reform Act. This Act ensures that your estate is divided up amongst your spouse and family members. However, the way the act divides up your estate may not be the way you want it to be distributed. This is a good reason for preparing a will.

Preparing a Will

It’s a good idea to have a lawyer who knows estate law to prepare a will for you, as the law on estates is complex. A lawyer can make sure that your will does what you intend it to do and that your estate is distributed according to your wishes.

You should be careful when using any will kit. Some of these kits may not comply with Ontario law and, therefore, your will may not be valid. If you do not sign and witness the will in accordance with the rules of the Succession Law Reform Act, it may not be valid. There are some pitfalls in will drafting that may not be highlighted in a standard will kit. For example, a will is revoked on marriage unless the will specifically states that it was made "in contemplation of marriage".

By having a lawyer draft your will, the lawyer can design the will to fit your particular estate and tax planning needs. Standard will forms are unlikely to do that.

11.10 What To Do When Someone Dies

Online Life Event Bundle “What To Do When Someone Dies”

The Ontario government is bundling information and services around key life events, such as “What To Do When Someone Dies”. Each bundle brings together in one place everything on the subject. From this site, you can find information on things you need to know and quick links to forms you might need.

For information, visit the “Life Events” section at the Government of Ontario website at www.ontario.ca or a ServiceOntario Centre, or call the Citizens’ Inquiry Bureau at 1-800-267-8097.

The First Steps

• Call the attending physician if there is an expected death. If there is no doctor available or the death is unexpected, call 911 or the emergency services number for your area.
• If your arrangements will include a traditional funeral or a less expensive service known as a “direct disposition", contact a funeral home or a transfer service. Funeral directors can help you make all the arrangements for funerals. For more information, call the Board of Funeral Services
  Toll-free: 1-800-387-4458
  Phone: 416-979-5450
  website: www.funeralboard.com
• • Should your arrangements also include burial or cremation, the cemetery or crematorium you choose can help you make the necessary arrangements. If you have questions relating to cemeteries and crematoriums and the services and supplies that they offer, contact the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Cemeteries Section:
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-1142
  Phone: 416-326-8393

Bereaved Families of Ontario

Bereaved Families Online (BFO) offers phone support to seniors who are bereaved. They help the bereaved learn to live with grief. They help the healing begin.
Bereaved Families of Ontario
Bereaved Families of Ontario / Toronto
28 Madison Avenue
Toronto, ON M5R 2S1
Phone: 416-440-0290
Fax: 416-440-0304
E-mail: info@bfotoronto.ca
website: www.bfotoronto.ca

With a Will

You will want to find out if the person left a will. Some people file their will with the estates division of their local court, but it could just as easily be with their lawyer, in a safety deposit box, or in a drawer at their home. Once the will is located, it may or may not go to the courts to determine its legality. The executor of the estate carries out the wishes contained in the will.

Without a Will

If the person dies without a will (intestate), the estate will be distributed according to the law. You may want to contact a lawyer.

Death Out of Country

If the person dies in another country, contact the Canadian Consulate Office of that country for instructions on how to proceed. For the telephone number of a Canadian Consulate Office, contact Consular Affairs Bureau of Foreign Affairs Canada:
Toll-free in Canada and the U.S.: 1-800-267-6788
Phone: 613-944-6788
For calls outside Canada: 613-996-8885 (collect calls accepted)
website: www.voyage.gc.ca/main/problems/deaths-en.asp

Death Certificate

The funeral director will issue copies of a proof of death that you can use in certain situations. There are some organizations, however, that may require an official death certificate. Death certificates, or certified copies of a death registration, are required for such purposes as settlement of estates, insurance, access to or termination of certain government services (e.g., health card, pensions, voter’s list).

To register a death, a family member or Funeral Director usually completes the Statement of Death with information about the deceased.

At the same time, the physician or coroner attending the death completes the Medical Certificate of Death, which contains the cause of death information. Both forms are mailed independently to the local Division Registrar of the Office of the Registrar General of Ontario.

Compensations, Pensions and Benefits

The executor should contact former employers of the deceased for company pensions. The executor should also contact the following offices (as they relate to the deceased person) to either find out eligibility for, or to cancel benefits:

Deceased’s life insurance company

Deceased’s automobile insurance company

Deceased’s home insurance company

Old Age Security (OAS) Program

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

Quebec Pension Plan
Toll-free in Quebec: 1-800-463-5185
Phone: 514-873-2433
website: www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/retraite/rrq/

Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS)

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC)
Surviving spouses, common-law partners and orphans may be eligible for assistance and/or benefits under certain VAC programs.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
The Occupational Disease and Survivor Benefits Program
Toll-free: 1-800-387-5540
Phone: 416-344-1000
TTY Toll-free: 1-800-387-0050
website: www.wsib.on.ca

Ontario Works
Ministry of Community and Social Services
Toll-free: 1-888-789-4199
Phone: 416-325-5666
TTY Toll-free: 1-800-387-5559
Fax: 416-325-7136
website: www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/social/programs/ow.htm

National Defence Disability and Death Benefits
Centre for the Care and Support of Injured and Retired Service Members
Toll-free: 1-800-883-6094
Phone: 613-995-1457
website: www.forces.gc.ca/dgcb/dpsp/engraph/deathdisability_e.asp
?sidesection=4&sidecat=14

Goods and Services Tax Credit
Canada Revenue Agency
Toll-free: 1-800-959-1953
website: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/contact/tso-e.html

Income Tax

The executor must complete an income tax form for the deceased. For information and assistance, contact your local tax services office of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). You can find the number in the Blue Pages of your telephone book under the keyword “Taxes”. Or visit the CRA Web site at www.cra-arc.gc.ca

Banks, Financial Institutions and Credit Cards

The executor should contact the person’s banks and financial institutions.

The executor should also contact credit card companies to cancel any cards.

Government Cards/Registries

The executor should contact the government offices that apply:
Canadian Citizenship
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Toll-free: 1-888-242-2100
website: www.cic.gc.ca

Canadian and Foreign Passports
Foreign Affairs Canada
Toll-free: 1-800-567-6868
TTY Toll-free: 1-866-255-7655
website: www.ppt.gc.ca

Driver’s Licence and Accessible Parking Permit
Ministry of Transportation Driver and Vehicle Licensing Call Centre
Toll-free: 1-800-387-3445
Phone: 416-235-2999
website: www.mto.gov.on.ca

Firearms Licences
Canadian Firearms Centre
Toll-free: 1-800-731-4000
website: www.cfc-ccaf.gc.ca

Indian Status
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Ottawa ON K1A 0H4
Toll-free: 1-800-567-9604
website: www.ainc-inac.gc.ca

Ontario Health Card
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
For the office nearest you, consult the Blue Pages of your telephone book under the keyword “Health” then “Health Card”.
website: www.health.gov.on.ca

Outdoors Card
Ministry of Natural Resources
Outdoors Card Centre
Toll-free: 1-800-387-7011
website: www.outdoorscard.mnr.gov.on.ca

Social Insurance Number
Social Development Canada (SDC)
For the office nearest you, consult the Blue Pages of your telephone book under the keyword “Social Insurance Numbers”.
website: www.sdc.gc.ca/en/gateways/topics/sxn-gxr.shtml

Vehicles

The executor may need to look into the following:

• auto insurance
• selling a vehicle or transferring ownership
• Accessible Parking Permit.

Property

The executor may need to look into the following:

• home insurance
• real estate and property title deeds, property taxes
• mail to be redirected or held by the local Canada Post Office
• utility company, cable company, telephone company, electric company within the deceased’s municipality for any name changes or cancellations
• newspaper delivery name changes or cancellations.

Clubs, Organizations, Services, and Professional Associations

The following may need to be contacted:

• frequent travellers/buyers cards
• places where the deceased volunteered
• professional organizations where the deceased was a member
• post-secondary institutions where the deceased was an alumnus
• caregivers or other health service organizations.