June 2017

Estates Administration Act Thwarts Dependant Support Claim

In MacDonald v. Estate of James Pouliot, 2017 ONSC 3629, the court considered a constructive trust and dependant support claim against an intestate estate. While the court granted a constructive trust, it dismissed the dependant support claim as the property at issue had already automatically vested in the beneficiary pursuant to section 9 of the Estates Administration Act. Mary and James lived together as common law spouses for 22 years,….

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Estate Litigation

The Prescribed Rate is About to Change – for Real this Time?

The prescribed rate is the minimum interest rate prescribed by the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) that should be charged on various non-arm’s loans such as those made by you to your spouse or child (through a family trust). Such loans are a common device to split income with others in your family. The money is often used to invest in income-producing properties and the income is taxable in the hands….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Interest, Investments, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Yesterday I watched the US Open & Thought About My Dad: Father’s Day- Take 2

Reposted from allaboutestates.ca This original post was from a few years ago. It does seem like only yesterday because, while time has not stood still, sometimes our sentiments don’t change. The event and message is the same. It is a few years later and there is a new US golf champion. We still however miss those who are no longer around. It was hard not to know that yesterday was….

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Elder Care, Estate Planning, Geriatric Care Management

Tidbits from the CRA

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending STEP Canada’s 19th National Conference, where I, along with over 700 other trust and estates professionals from across Canada, had the opportunity to hear from engaging and thought-provoking speakers on a diverse range of trust and estates topics. One of the plenary sessions every year at the Conference, which attendees particularly anticipate, is the STEP Canada/CRA Round Table, where senior representatives….

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Spouse, Tax Issues, Wills

The Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) Annual Conference

Earlier this week I attended the 19th annual National Conference of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (“STEP”). I must congratulate Michael Dodick, Janis Armstrong and their whole team for putting on another very successful conference. The success of the conference is easily measurable, there were 720 attendees, making it the largest STEP conference in the World. STEP Canada continues to grow and now has 2486 members in 11 branches….

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Estate Planning, In the News, Practice Management, Uncategorized

Triumph of the Trustee Act

You may be forgiven for thinking that the expression “clear as mud” was created specifically to describe limitation periods. The policy rationale behind limitation periods is to create certainty and predictability by establishing a firm deadline by which a claim must be brought or else the claim is lost forever. However, figuring out the limitation period may be difficult, especially when multiple statutes establish different limitation periods that apply to….

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Estate Litigation
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