Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

May 2013 be filled with joy!

¡Qué el 2013 sea lleno de alegría!

Thermal imaging- Find out where you are losing heat in your house

Below is an article by Ian Harvey written for the Toronto Star about thermal imaging, an interesting heat-loss detection system that has been around for a number of years and has now become quite affordable. 

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What’s behind your walls? What you don’t see can hurt your home — but a simple and inexpensive service could be just the tool for peaking into the hidden recesses of your biggest investment.
Thermal imaging technology — taking pictures of objects with a special camera which sees minute variations in temperature and displays them in a corresponding colour scheme — has been around for decades but has only recently become affordable for the residential market.
“These cameras used to cost tens of thousands of dollars,” says Toronto electrical engineer turned thermal imaging specialist Gabriel Gal. “Even more recently, they were $10,000 but now you can get them for around $2,500.”

The same economics that has driven down the cost of your computer, laptop, big screen TV and digital camera, is also at play on these scientific devices. The real trick is being certified in how to read the  thermal images.
But for homeowners, it also means that for between $200 and $300, depending on the size of your house and how detailed a report you need, services like Gal’s Atlantis Thermal Imaging can identify issues such as faulty wiring, termite damage, uneven insulation, air leaks, moisture or condensation penetration, and where your in-floor radiant heating system has sprung a leak or whether it was installed properly.
“Even in my own house, I’ve found things I didn’t know about,” he says. “I renovated and had a new roof put on but the water and ice shield wasn’t laid properly. I found where the ice had started to push under the shingles.”
For home buyers and builders alike, it’s a small investment and could pay for itself since a standard home inspection may not catch hidden issues.
“With energy costs today, people want to know if they have a problem,” he says. “If they feel ‘ghosts’ or drafts in their rooms, they want to know where that leak is coming from and a camera allows you to find those things.”
For home buyers, he says, a thermal imaging scan can find problems they can demand be fixed or reflected in a better price; for builders it’s a way to ensure their sub-trades have done their job.
“I’m a certified home inspector as well,” says Gal, who also builds houses through his company Atlantis Homes. “And even with my experience, you don’t always see everything. There are some 80,000 homes sold each year in the GTA and only 70 per cent are inspected. Even fewer are thermally scanned.”
While the thermal imaging can’t “see” mould, for example, it can see moisture which shows up as a different temperature.
“It feeds on paper and the sugars in wood,” he said. “We can see the moisture which usually means mould, too.”
As a custom home builder, Gal knows the value of thermal imaging — and so does Claude Spethmann, who is also a custom builder
“We’ve had problems in the past with radiant floor heating which we put oak flooring over,” says Spethmann of Spethmann Works Ltd. “Sometimes they (the sub-trades) nail right through the pipes and cause a leak, which causes all kinds of problems.”
He hired Gal to image the floor to ensure there were no leaks.
“You energize the heating system and before it really heats up you can clearly see the lines,” Gal says. “If there’s a leak, you’ll see it start to pool.”
In other inspections, Spethmann was able to see insulation was not installed properly and was able to address the problem before turning the finished home over to his clients. “These are custom homes and people expect a level of quality,” he said.
Any tool that gives buyers an insight is invaluable, says realtor Don Gault of Royal LePage/Johnston & Daniel.
While a good home inspector is worth every penny, it can be hit or miss depending on the inspector’s skills and level of experience.
“I take my own advice,” he says. “With imaging, you can see things the naked eye would miss. It can also confirm suspicions.”
Home inspectors aren’t allowed to drill into walls or pull things apart to investigate forensically, he notes, but the thermal imaging can get to the heart of things.
“Nothing takes the shine off a new home purchase like discovering something you wish you’d known about before the offer. It’s rare, mercifully, but I wouldn’t buy from the older housing stock in Toronto without this kind of investigation.”

Choosing a Real Estate Agent

You see so many different For Sale, Sold and For Lease signs with so many different Realtor names. You browse the listings on MLS and see so many more. With so many agents out there, how do you choose? Do you go by their picture? Do you look at how many listings they have? What's a home buyer to do?

Here are a few recommendations when beginning your search:

1) Get referrals from family, friends and co-workers.  

2) Meet with a few agents to conduct mini interviews.

3) Check the online search of The Real Estate Council of Ontario to see if the agent is registered. RECO regulates the activity of trading in real estate in the public interest and has been put in place to protect your best interests.

4) If you are a seller, find out how much their commission is.

5) Normally, it is helpful if the agent is familiar with the area you are looking in. 

6) Choose someone who displays professionalism and a willingness to work for your needs.

7) Should you want, your agent should be able to assist you with other necessary real estate related services, for example, arranging a house inspection, arranging a mortgage and finding a real estate lawyer.

8) If you are selling your home, does the agent have a plan of attack for marketing your house. MLS, ads, open houses?

9) Not all agents work the same schedule. If you are only available to view properties on Sundays, make sure your agent works weekends. Communicate your availability during your interview with them.

10) This isn't a deal breaker, but if your sales representative has a website, that is a very good way of gathering even more information about them and seeing what affiliations they have.

Entrevista del 23 de febrero en AM1610 Voces Latinas

Aquí se encuentra la entrevista del 23 de febrero de Antonio Guerrero con Silvia Mendez en radio AM1610 Voces Latinas.

Haz click en el logo para escuchar la entrevista grabada.

Antonio Guerrero será en la radio hoy

Escuchen al programa en Voces Latinas 1610AM a las 7:15pm donde Antonio hablará otra vez de temas relacionados con la Ley Familiar.


Haga click sobre el logo de Voces Latinas para escuchar.

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Mastercard commercial

This is somewhat out of character, however this video caught our interest, because of the Spanish of course!


We sat mesmerized, not knowing what the commercial was for. We threw out a string of guesses, and were then surprised to see that it was for Mastercard!


For those who haven't seen this, check it out.

Will you be participating in Earth Hour 2011?

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. 

Last year on March 27, 2010, a record 128 countries and territories  united across the globe making it the largest voluntary action ever witnessed.

Earth Hour is a worldwide event started by the World Wildlife Fund that rallies millions of people to show support for action on climate change. This year, after the lights come back on, residents are being challenged to think about what else they can do to make a difference and be part of a solution.

Last year, Hydro One Brampton reported a five per cent drop in power usage in Brampton, which is equal to 21.7 megawatts, or enough electricity to power 18,000 homes.

Climate change is the biggest environmental threat to life on Earth wreaking havoc with the natural systems that

regulate the earth’s climate: 

• Melting glaciers and ice caps on every continent, creating heat waves, and dehydrating forests and

wetlands

• Affecting the lives and communities of everyone on the planet

On average, every person in the world is making a footprint 50% more than what the planet actually produces per person, per year. In other words, it takes 1.5 Earths of productivity to support humanity each year, but we have

only 1 Earth!

Half our footprint is carbon from fossil fuel emissions. Canada is one of the top 10 nations contributing to global climate change. While other leading countries of the world are pioneering green energy technologies and solutions, we are holding on to an old strategy based on developing increasingly carbon-intensive forms of energy in the Arctic and the tar sands. We must value carbon more, consume less, insulate better, and hasten the switch to alternative fuels like wind, solar, tidal and hydropower. WWF-Canada is calling on business and political leaders to drive this fundamental shift. Our success will ensure that Canada is on the right path for future generations, our economy and the planet.

Guerrero Law’s employees will be participating by switching off their lights for Earth Hour at home. Antonio Guerrero has prepared his guitar to play music by candlelight for his family during that hour.

What will you be doing during Earth Hour?

If you need ideas, visit the Earth Hour website to find out how you can participate.

Guerrero Law in Mexico City / Guerrero Law en la Ciudad de México D.F.

Guerrero Law is very excited to announce the expansion of its office to Mexico City.


We are pleased to welcome Gabriela Guerrero to our team, and look forward to working with her.

Our office in Mexico City can be found at the following address:

División del Norte 1167
2o. Piso, Colonia del Valle
C.P. 03100, México D.F.

To reach us by phone from within Mexico, contact: 5350-6592
From outside Mexico, we can be reached at: +1 (416) 840-5807

Guerrero Law tiene el placer de anunciar la expansión de su oficina a la Ciudad de México D.F. 


Damos la bienvenida a Gabriela Guerrero a nuestro equipo quien será nuestra representante en México.


Nuestra oficina en México, D.F. se encuentra a la siguiente dirección:

División del Norte 1167
2o. Piso, Colonia del Valle
C.P. 03100, México D.F.

Para contactarnos por teléfono desde México: 5350-6592

De fuera de México, nos pueden contactar al: +1 (416) 840-5807

Taping for Now What? Rogers TV / Grabando para Now What? Rogers TV

Today, Antonio Guerrero had the pleasure of being interviewed by Martha Pinzón from the Rogers TV show Now What?.
He was invited to the show to briefly speak about divorce and alternatives to court proceedings.
The show will air in two weeks at which point we will upload the clip.

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Hoy, Antonio Guerrero tuvo el privilegio de ser entrevistado por Martha Pinzón de Rogers TV del programa Now What?.
Fue invitado al programa para hablar en breve de los temas de divorcio y alternativas al proceso judicial.
El programa estará en el aire en dos semanas en cual momento cárgaremos la entrevista.

Grabando para el programa Now What?

Martha Pinzón y Antonio Guerrero

Feliz Día de la Mujer

Photos courtesy of Antonio Guerrero

What happens to your retirement savings in a divorce?

As written by MARY GOODERHAM and published in the Globe and Mail 


Who gets what? When a marriage breaks, a couple’s major assets are divided as well. But when they are socked away in registered plans, splitting those assets evenly and smartly becomes about avoiding tax hits.

Registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and registered retirement income funds (RRIFs) as well as pensions are considered family property to be divided 50-50 in a legal separation or divorce. The Income Tax Act provides for tax-free rollovers of RRSPs and RRIFs between spouses where there is a court order or written separation agreement, which allows for the equalization of registered assets without significant tax implications.

But then things get tricky. Dividing the funds in registered plans along with other family assets can involve complex deliberations and leave one or both members of the couple scrambling to make up for retirement.

“For most people the math doesn’t work very easily,” says Eva Sachs, a certified financial planner in Toronto who is also a certified divorce financial analyst specializing in issues such as financial settlement options for divorcing couples.

More than half of the clients Ms. Sachs sees in her fee-for-service consultancy, called Women in Divorce Financial, are ending marriages of between 20 and 30 years. Already in their late 40s or early 50s, these couples must quickly gear up for retirement, while variously paying hefty costs related to the separation, learning anew to manage finances and supporting two households.

“Getting divorced really messes up the retirement plans they had been working on as a couple,” she says. “It’s a huge thing.”

Take Peter and Joan Wright, for example. The Wrights (not their real name) jointly own a house worth $500,000 and RRSP assets worth $400,000. Mrs. Wright wants to keep the house, which means she must give cash – or the equivalent in RRSPs – to her ex. (She could perhaps take out a significant line of credit or extend the mortgage on the house to pay him some of the funds.) Mr. Wright may end up with the lion’s share of the RRSPs, but he then needs to pay for housing and other costs.

One significant issue on the divorce ledger sheet is that the value of RRSPs is calculated by taking into account the deferred tax that must be paid. A notional tax rate is usually applied, based on the expected income and thus the taxation level upon retirement of the person who gets them.

“Sometimes the negotiations get a little complicated,” says Douglas Lamb, a certified financial planner at Spera Financial in Toronto.

The best way to get back on track with RRSPs, he says, is to establish a comprehensive financial plan “that reflects an individual’s new economic realities” and develop an investment plan that supports it. That means figuring out any new expenses and sources of income as well as projecting what you will need for retirement.

A spouse who is newly receiving regular alimony or child support payments, for example, must realize that this is income that is taxable, but also handily creates RRSP room, Ms. Sachs says. Making sure to set aside the funds to pay the tax or to invest in the RRSP, while covering all other expenses incurred in their new household, is critical.

Many people end up with huge costs related to the divorce itself, she explains, such as legal bills, counselling for the kids and credit card debt from emotional spending. Many people finance these expenses by cashing in RRSPs. Worse, she says, many people take a hiatus from making RRSP payments, thinking they will get back to it, but “it’s hard to start up again.”

Getting good advice, establishing a firm financial plan and making informed decisions on your retirement, she says, must start with figuring out what your new life is costing and buckling down on expenses.

“Something has to give,” Ms. Sachs says. “You need to adjust your spending to meet the new reality.”

Mr. Lamb adds that often in the case of divorce, one partner is less aware of issues such as RRSPs, especially if the other partner had the “financial administration responsibilities, wrote the cheques and did the investing.”

Those in the first category “have all of the emotional turmoil of the separation and they’re just bewildered,” he adds. In such cases, doing a long-term plan and considering where funds will come from in retirement, be it from RRSPs, tax-free savings accounts or even a real estate investment, he says, will “tell you what you’re going to do for the rest of your life.”

Spousal RRSPs

Investing in a spousal RRSP is a smart move for couples who want to split their income – and pay less combined tax – in retirement. If you break up before you get to that stage, however, the assets belong to the person whose name is on the plan, although the funds will be equally divided.

Spousal RRSPs are especially useful when couples anticipate that they’ll generate unequal amounts of taxable income when they retire, for example from pensions, retirement savings or investments. They can also be used to build up both spouses’ RRSP accounts in equal proportion, where one person doesn’t work or earns less and therefore has less RRSP contribution room than the other.

In a spousal RRSP, one spouse uses his or her own contribution room to pay into an RRSP account in the partner’s name. The person who makes the investment benefits from the tax deduction, while the partner in whose name the RRSP is registered owns the account.

Upon divorce, spousal RRSPs are actually treated the same as the rest of the family’s assets. A couple’s RRSPs and RRIFs are evenly split and can be transferred tax free, so in most instances contributing to a spousal RRSP is no different from contributing to an RRSP in your own name.

Entrevista de Guerrero Law en AM1610

Guerrero Law está encantado de anunciar que, Antonio Guerrero aparecerá en la radio en AM1610 Voces Latinas a las 4:30pm, miércoles el 23 de febrero, para hablar de varias temas relacionadas con la Ley Familiar.

Guerrero Law interview on AM1610

Guerrero Law is pleased to announce that, Antonio Guerrero will be featured on AM1610 Voces Latinas at 4:30pm on Wednesday, February 23, to discuss various topics related to Family Law.


Click here to listen live.

Assaulted Women's Helpline- Ontario

Are you or someone you know being abused?


The Assaulted Women's Helpline is a free, anonymous and confidential service.


The Assaulted Women's Helpline website describes themselves:


"The Assaulted Women's Helpline provides a 24-hour crisis line for women. It allows women to reach out for help, assured of their anonymity and confidentiality.
A telephone counsellor provides immediate crisis counselling, safety planning, as well as referrals to local agencies and support for the ongoing struggle to name and act against abuse. Counsellors never meet clients face to face as this is a telephone service only.
Counsellors use a supportive approach that encourages women to look at their needs, and make their own informed decisions.
You don't have to give your name
Our toll-free number won't show up on your phone bill
We do not have call display
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Our helpline seeks to improve barriers to service for immigrant and refugee women, women living with disabilities, Aboriginal women, lesbians, bi-sexual women, trans-gendered women and women of colour by referrals to culturally, linguistically, and “community appropriate” agencies. Service is provided in up to 154 languages. Deaf and hard of hearing women are served through the TTY line." Crisis Line Information GTA                416.863.0511 TOLL-FREE    1.866.863.0511 GTA TTY              416.364.8762 TOLL-FREE TTY  1.866.863.7868 #SAFE (#7233) on your Bell, Rogers, Fido, Telus phone

New Mortgage Rules

Changes to the rules for mortgage lending received a lot of press in the past week. However, these changes won't affect most borrowers significantly.
The March 18, 2011 changes are really phase three of a gradual return to what I would call normal mortgage lending rules. In the “old days” - like 10 years ago - home buyers needed a minimum 10% down payment, they needed to pay for CMHC mortgage insurance in order to protect their lender if they had a down payment smaller than 25%, and they had to pay off the mortgage within 25 years. Even after the most recent changes, a home can be purchased with 5% down and paid for over 30 years. No wise person would amortize over more than 30 years, but you can still do that if you have made more than 20% as a down payment. If you are refinancing an existing home, you can still borrow up to 85% of its value, although down from the previous 90%. The third change – effective April 18, 2011 - is going to make lenders more cautious, because it removes the government insurance protection on home equity-backed lines of credit. These have been a fabulous business building tool for banks and credit unions, as well as a convenience for homeowners. This change simply means that the bank or credit union will have to be more careful to make sure you can repay them, because CMHC is no longer guaranteeing it.


as reported in The Viewpoint of the Clearsight Investment Program

Have you considered mediation?

Services are provided on-site at some family courts, otherwise sessions take place at the mediator's office.


Family mediation services are available to you to help you resolve child custody and access, child and spousal support, and division of property issues. Some family mediators can also help with child protection disputes, although these mediators require additional qualifications.


Contact Guerrero Law if you would like to find out more about mediation.

This week's comic relief

¿Qué sabes de derecho familiar en Ontario?

  Lo que usted debe saber sobre derecho de familia en Ontario

Aquí encontrará mucha información para ayudarte con el tema de derecho de familia en nuestra provincia.