July 2017 – All About Estates

Alternative Level of Care- Take 2

Audrey Miller • July 31, 2017 • 0 Comments

Our Ontario government is short sighted. We/They have not planned well for the changing and aging of our society. There simply is no place for those of us who need care and are not fortunate enough to either have the funds to pay for it themselves or have the necessary family available who can pay for and assume this heavy burden – both in terms of financial, emotional obligation and….

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More from the CRA on Survivor Payments from TFSAs

Katie Ionson • July 28, 2017 • 0 Comments

In my last post, I wrote about a recent Technical Interpretation from the CRA where the CRA was asked to consider whether a survivor payment could be made by an executor out of a deceased taxpayer’s TFSA (or, more specifically, former TFSA) to the deceased’s spouse in satisfaction of a legacy left to the spouse. In other words, in circumstances where the spouse was not the designated beneficiary of the….

Canada Revenue Agency

Consolidate, for Efficiency’s Sake!

Gillian Fournie • July 26, 2017 • 0 Comments

The 2014 Supreme Court decision, Hryniak v Mauldin, directly addressed the need to increase access to justice. In that case, the Supreme Court clarified and broadened a court’s fact-finding powers on summary judgment motions with the goal of providing litigants a faster procedure in appropriate cases. In the same spirit, there are other procedural tools available to streamline court proceedings and eliminate redundancy. In particular, Rule 6 of the Rules….

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Estate Litigation, Guardianship, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

Capacity Assessments and Biases to Beware of

Dr. Richard Shulman • July 25, 2017 • 0 Comments

Capacity assessments regarding capacity to manage property, testamentary capacity or capacity to appoint a power of attorney for property (POA), whether conducted contemporaneously or retrospectively, rely upon whatever materials/information that is provided to an assessor to review. Materials may include relevant medical records, previous wills and POA documents, interview of the person if done contemporaneously or videos and/or audio recordings of the deceased if retrospective, and affidavits within legal briefs…..

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Capacity Law, Elder Law, Estate Litigation, Guardianship, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Testamentary Capacity

Have You Been Scammed Lately?

Audrey Miller • July 24, 2017 • 1 Comment

Have you been called from someone saying they are from a particular computer company and they want to fix the virus in your software program? How about the caller who identifies themselves as your granddaughter’s friend who they had their wallet stolen, is stranded and needs your help? Or the fellow who rings your door bell saying that his car broke down and his pregnant wife needs to get to….

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Elder Care

Government Targets Tax Planning for Private Companies

Corina Weigl • July 21, 2017 • 0 Comments

July 18, 2017 was a relatively quiet day in my office. That is until I received a flurry of emails regarding a release by the Department of Finance. In particular, the Department of Finance issued draft legislation which, if passed, will significantly change the nature of tax planning for Canadian private companies and their shareholders. The proposed changes will impact both current structures that many Canadian private companies have in….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Succession Planning, Tax Issues