Estate Planning

Accessing National Memories

By Hull & Hull LLP

Tomorrow is July 1^st.  It makes me think of Hatley, a small village in Quebec's Eastern Townships and its annual Canada Day Celebration. (My wife grew up nearby.)  Across Canada, flags fly high and memories abound. 

If you will allow this segue, memories are often a significant part of estates that are easily overlooked.  When an estate arises, we often focus on assets without putting our mind to the deceased's legacy.  For many of us, our papers and personal files do not amount to much. But it's a different story for politicians.

An interesting paper from the Faculty of Information Quarterly at the University of Toronto compares the treatment of Presidents' papers versus Prime Ministers' papers. The retention of U.S. papers seems to be more statute driven, although presidential Executive Order can govern the ultimate treatment of documents.

Apparently, on his first day on the job, President Obama overturned President Bush's order that had limited access to presidential papers. 

In Canada, Prime Ministers' papers fall into two categories: government/institutional records and personal/political records. Former Prime Ministers receive tax credits for the value of the personal papers they donate to Library and Archives Canada. That value is not disclosed.

Similarly, in the U.S., some financial incentives exist for Presidents: in 2000, the Justice Department paid the Nixon estate $18 million to compensate for records seized in 1974.

In both cases, restrictions regarding the release of certain documents might apply. For example, apparently here in Canada, for 2.5 million records in the National Archives, one must write to Mr. Mulroney directly for permission. 

Have a safe, relaxing Canada Day.

Jonathan

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).