January 2014

The Income Tax Act (“ITA”) requires persons and partnerships to file information returns in respect of foreign property ownership and transactions with non-residents. This extends to trusts and estates. Those who file such a return late or do not file one on demand are liable to a penalty or penalties. Generally speaking, a penalty starts at a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500, if over 100 days late…..

I had an opportunity to participate in a discussion on resources provided by the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC for short). Part of my role as a geriatric care manager is to make sure our clients are living as well as they can and this includes being aware of resources and associated costs. As I have always said when dealing with POA’s, is that care requirements need to be supported….

In October 2013 the British Columbia Court of Appeal released its decision in Carter v. Canada overturning the BC Supreme Court’s decision which, inter alia, determined that s.241(b) of the Criminal Code banning assisted suicide infringed a person’s s.7 Charter rights. The Court of Appeal could not distinguish Carter from the 1993 SCC decision in Rodriguez which upheld s.241(b) and found Rodriguez governed and accordingly overturned the lower court’s decision…..

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a national speaking tour – Living longer, living better – along with Patty Randall. The tour was hosted by HollisWealth to help celebrate its new identity. Patty has been described as “one of the pre-eminent experts, writers, speakers and media commentators on the issue of care in Canada”. Patty is the author of “Let’s Talk – The Care Years: Taking Care of….

In Zerbinati v. Zerbinati 2013 CanLII 86428 (ON SC), the respondents to an application for the determination of the validity of the last will and testament of Valentino Mario Zerbinati (“Valentino”) brought a motion for “non-suit” on the grounds that the formal validity of Valentino’s Will had not been established. The applicants were the testator’s son, Valentino Jr. (“Tino”), and Valentino’s grandson, both of whom stood to inherit the residue….

It’s that time of the year when trustees and executors start thinking about tax returns including beneficiary tax information slips. So, are the beneficiaries obliged to hand over their tax IDs to the trustees and executors? Our tax rules provide that the preparer of information slips should make a reasonable effort to obtain the tax ID information from the individuals or businesses for which they are preparing information slips, such….