As winter finally sets in for us Canadians and our Canadian snowbirds begin to head south, we often see an increase in interest among our clients with the concept of owning a home in the southern USA. While the Canadian dollar may make this somewhat unattractive at the moment and perhaps for the foreseeable future given some recent forecasts, there will always be deals to be had and emotional decisions to be made. As a result, I take this blog as an opportunity to remind readers of the implications of owning a US vacation property.
Month: January 2016
Total 19 Posts
Should we be suspicious of friendly neighbours who offer a helping hand to a senior? What may start out innocently and with good intent does not always stay that way.
Research in the United States has consistently shown that the vast majority of parents intend to divide their estates equally among their children (there appears to be far less research on the topic in Canada). Intriguingly, this is in contrast with inter vivos transfers – research has shown that children are…
If you have been a regular reader of our blogs, then I am hoping you have learnt more than a few things about estates and trusts. At the very least, I expect that you now have a will if you didn’t before with executor(s) appointed and beneficiary (ies) designated and…
Fine art is an asset class that has been growing in importance among the affluent and is beginning to be a significant part of certain estate plans. One estimate pegged the international art market at €51 billion in 2014, and Canada has seen record prices at auction. Many collectors are…
It’s a new year, and for many, with that comes new resolutions! My fellow blogger, Elaine Blades, recently encouraged those readers who are among the 50% of Canadians without a Will to add “making a Will” to their goals for 2016. If you have a Will, you may also wish…
“41 million wills available to search online for the first time,” a press release from the UK’s Ministry of Justice trumpeted. The truth is somewhat more prosaic, but still reflects an excellent initiative that should be emulated by Ontario. The UK government, in partnership with Iron Mountain, has electronically archived…
The new Canadian tax rules concerning charitable donations of graduated rate estates restrict those donations to gifts of properties acquired by an estate as a result of the death of an individual or of properties substituted for those properties.
How many resolutions did you make this year? One? Three? Five? Or are you one of the super ambitious (not to mention optimistic) types, having made 10 or more? While getting in shape and eating better are the perennial winners of the “most popular resolution” award, getting organized, procrastinating less and…