Decease and Assist
A typical estate administration can take between 12-18 months and can consume hundreds of hours depending on the complication involved….
Decease and Assist Continue Reading »
Estate Administration, Estate PlanningAugust 2016
Once a Qualifying Spousal Trust, Always and Qualifying Spousal Trust – and a Note on Deathbed Holograph Wills
During the June 10, 2016 Toronto STEP Conference Roundtable, the CRA was asked to provide its views on paragraph 8 of IT-3054, which states: Once a trust qualifies as a spouse trust under the terms of subsection 70(6), it remains a spouse trust and is subject to the provisions affecting such trusts (for example, paragraph 104(4)(a)) even if its terms are varied by agreement, legal action or breach of trust…..
Elder Abuse
Knowing who to call and getting the correct information is paramount- at any time. Obtaining assistance is especially critical for those worried about elder abuse. ….
Elder Abuse Continue Reading »
Elder Care, Estate Planning1993: Good Year for Baseball – Bad Year for Litigation
What made 1993 a memorable year? Justice Howard addressed that question in the opening seven paragraphs of his decision in Meriano v Benoot, 2016 ONSC 4839. Bill Clinton, Sir John Major, Kim Campbell and Jean Chretien all took office. Czechoslovakia separate into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Prince changed his name to a symbol. There were no Taylor Swift songs on the radio because, as his Honour archly noted, “the talented….
1993: Good Year for Baseball – Bad Year for Litigation Continue Reading »
Estate LitigationDetermining the CAPITAL DIVIDEND ACCOUNT BALANCE: no longer a shot in the dark?
The capital dividend account (“CDA”) is a tax free surplus account within a private corporation which gives shareholders designated capital dividends, tax-free. The CDA typically contains the non-taxable portion of the company’s capital gains net of capital losses, capital gains received by other companies, proceeds of life insurance on death and other capital like distributions. The CDA account is often a central feature of tax planning for individuals with private….
Determining the CAPITAL DIVIDEND ACCOUNT BALANCE: no longer a shot in the dark? Continue Reading »
Business Succession Planning, Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, In the News, Investments, Small Business, Succession Planning, Tax Issues, TrustsDeaccessioning Donations of Art
Deaccession. It’s a word that brings chills to donors and would-be donors of art to public galleries. The ingratitude. The betrayal. How can they sell my gift, my art?! To deaccession is, in conventional curatorial thinking, to break trust with donors. It chases them away. In the spirit of pragmatism, most museums and galleries rule out selling works from their collection. It becomes a matter of policy. “We never sell….
Deaccessioning Donations of Art Continue Reading »
Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving