September 2017

Will Planning for Beneficiaries

In what might be one of the last pipeline transactions my office will advise on (depending on the outcome of the Government of Canada tax proposals), I ran into an unfortunate situation which served to highlight a fundamental aspect of estate planning: Planning for your beneficiaries. Recently, I reached out to the beneficiaries of the estate I am working on to determine their personal tax positions for this current year…..

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Business Succession Planning, Disability, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

The Balancing Act Continues

Labour Day signifies back to school and for many parents, having their children return to school is a great relief. However for many of those ‘sandwiched’ between working full time and providing caregiving assistance to older family members, a return to school may mean less time for themselves. Helping with homework, driving to afterschool activities, getting lunches made and dinner on the table makes me appreciate how many roles and….

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Caregiving, Elder Care

Morneau Stands Firm on Tax Proposals

Minister of Finance Bill Morneau (“Morneau”) met with small-business owners in British Columbia earlier this week to hear their complaints about and concerns with the tax proposals which were launched on July 18, 2017. With a consultation process of only 75 days, doctors, farmers, small business advocacy groups and various professional associations have been quickly digesting the significant proposed changes and making their views known about the negative impact these….

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Tax Issues

Schizophrenia in Late Life and Impact on Decision-Making Capacity

Schizophrenia in adults is the most common illness causing psychosis (a loss of contact with reality, a lack of ability to tell what is real from what is not real in some way). Schizophrenia generally commences in late adolescence or less commonly after age 40 referred to as late onset schizophrenia in DSM-5. Seniors with schizophrenia will likely have had an early onset of the disease with chronic persistent mental….

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Disability, Elder Care, Uncategorized

Alter Ego Trusts, The Deemed Disposition, and Spousal Rollovers

As a result of changes to the law over the last several years, such as increased reporting requirements during the probate process, the loss of graduate rate taxation for most testamentary trusts, and restrictions on the ability of most trusts to use the principal residence exemption, alter ego trusts may be used more frequently, either to take advantage of a benefit (e.g. the principal residence exemption) or because a former….

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Trusts
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