November 2016

Dating back to the 12th century when the English court of equity created the concept of the “use”, which in modern day is known as the “trust”, trusts have been an important tool in estate planning for both tax and non-tax reasons. Prior to January 1, 2016, testamentary trusts had enhanced tax benefits for purposes of incorporating into an estate plan. Effective January 1, 2016, changes to the Income Tax Act (the “ITA”) eliminated one of these enhanced tax benefits that testamentary trusts offered, leading practitioners to ask whether testamentary trusts continue to serve a purpose in a individual’s estate plan…..