The months of spring are replete with days of significance. There are religious holidays and a slew of other days intended to take advantage of the warmer weather or celebrate the arrival of spring.

Although, it’s likely that everyone has taken part in one of these days it’s equally likely that a large chunk of the population has ignored a newer annual day of meaning. On April 16th it was National Advance Care Planning Day. This is a day designated, for Canadians, to reflect on the decisions that need to be made at the end of a life.

The day is the result of efforts to create a pan-Canadian framework for the discussion of advance care planning. Too often important decisions are put off until it is too late. The Advance Care Planning in Canada Project hopes to limit instances of this type. For those of you who are not completely certain of what Advance Care Planning encompasses, you should know that whenever a capable adult thinks or talks about their wishes for future health care with close family members and their health care provider, they are engaging in advance care planning.

The Ministry of Health encourages all capable adults to embrace advance care planning and take advantage of tools like the advance care planning guide, My Voice: Expressing My Wishes for Future Health Care Treatment. By spending time thinking and discussing matters of this kind in the present, individuals will avoid a number of complicated issues that may arise for their loved ones in the future.

The Advance Care Planning in Canada Project is intended to raise the awareness of Canadians regarding advance care planning and to equip them with the tools they need to engage in the process. An immediate goal is to encourage individuals to access the assistance of professionals and health care providers to begin the process of advance care planning.

Clearly these efforts are commendable. As the baby boomer generation continues to age, the need to educate the public about proactively planning for the future can only increase. Lawyers who practice in the areas of committeeships, wills, trusts and estate planning are all logical choices as trusted advisors when it comes to planning both for end of life decisions and the future financial well being of family members. LawOne is a resource that can help. Our network of lawyers includes legal professionals who practice in the above-mentioned areas. You can find their contact information on lawone.ca.

For additional information about advance care planning view the government Press Release or browse the BC Minisitry of Health’s website on making future health care decisions.

Wondering whether your legal fees in a family law matter are tax deductible? Check out the latest post from the Henderson Heinrichs Vancouver Divorce Law Blog.

Dealing with the financial issues surrounding the breakdown of a marriage is complicated particularly when the resolution involves having to pay legal fees. The lawyers at Henderson Heinrichs can help you sort out what you can and cannot deduct at tax time and make the process more manageable. Visit their website for contact information and to review their lawyer bios.

Canada welcomes thousands of newcomers in the spousal and common-law partner sponsorship category every year, yet this Canadian permanent residence application category garners little public attention – this is probably due to the lack of controversial issues about it. As Victoria, BC immigration lawyer Robbie Sheffman observes:

Generally speaking, spousal and common-law partner sponsorship applications rest on three main pillars:  the eligibility of the sponsor to sponsor; the existence and genuineness of the marriage or common-law relationship; and the admissibility of the foreign national applicant for Canadian permanent residence status (that is, medical and security clearances). Despite the lack of public attention and controversy, there are many important decisions which need to be made and factors to be taken into consideration when planning or making a Canadian permanent residence application in this category, such as:

• Whether to use the “Inside Canada” or “Outside Canada” process
• The timing of the medical examination
• How to prove the existence and genuineness of the relationship
• How to demonstrate the intention to return to Canada by a Canadian citizen sponsor residing outside Canada
• Issues pertaining to children, and
• Importation of personal belongings to Canada.

Robbie also notes that the above list is intended to illustrate only some of the issues and it is by no means exhaustive.

Because family reunification is an important objective of Canadian immigration legislation, in keeping with that objective, Citizenship and Immigration Canada processes these applications on a priority basis.  Robbie Sheffman regularly deals with spousal and common law sponsorships. If you would like more information or think Robbie may be able to help you visit his website (www.immigrationlawbc.com) or call his office at 250.590.2951 to make an appointment.

If you are looking for British Columbia family law case analysis and commentary on topical issues including: divorce, child support, spousal maintenance and procedural issues that arise in BC family law matters, take a look at the Vancouver Divorce Law Blog being hosted by the BC family law lawyers at Henderson Heinrichs.  Founding partners Rain Henderson and Kevin Heinrichs have been helping clients resolve family law matters since the early 1990s. They joined forces in 1997 to start Henderson Heinrichs – a firm focused solely on family and divorce law.  Now six lawyers strong, Henderson Heinrichs offers BC clients experienced advice and representation in family law matters including:

• divorce
• common law relationships (rights, obligations and potential issues)
• custody and access
• property division (aka division of assets)
• spousal and child support
• separation and prenuptial agreements
• mediation and court proceedings.

Welcome to our newest LawOne network member, immigration and business lawyer Robbie Sheffman. Called to the British Columbia bar in 1992, Robbie provides advice and services on a wide range of Canadian citizenship and immigration applications and issues. With offices in downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Robbie provides legal services through his law corporation, Robert S. Sheffman Law Corporation. For more information about Robbie’s practice and how to contact him for assistance visit his website www.immigrationlawbc.com.

Among the wide variety of Canadian citizenship and immigration issues on which Robbie advises, he frequently advises employers who hire foreign workers (or are thinking about hiring foreign workers) and human resources professionals involved in the process. He notes that clients dealing with foreign workers must be aware of upcoming changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (”TFWP”), recently announced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2011.

If you are interested in finding out more about the TFWP changes and how they may affect your business operations please contact Robbie at your convenience. If you have a group of ten or more employees and human resources professionals who would benefit from an overview of the changes, talk to Robbie about a customized workplace presentation.

LawOne lawyers network and Vancouver personal injury law firm Taylor & Blair has recently added some video discussions to their website. The first set deals with common mistakes car accident victims make when dealing with ICBC and other insurers.

View: Taylor & Blair Videos