October 2023

Exercise Caution: Different Countries – Different Tax Regimes at Death

This blog has been written by Rahul Sharma, Partner at Fasken LLP A couple of recent telephone calls reminded me of the perils of estate and tax planning that crosses borders without proper planning. The first case is regrettably quite common.  An entrepreneur in the technology sector (we will call him “John”) is a resident of Ontario.  John partners with other like-minded, and equally talented, entrepreneurs based in the United….

Exercise Caution: Different Countries – Different Tax Regimes at Death Continue Reading »

Estate Planning, Tax Issues, U.S. Citizen, United States, US Taxes

Testamentary Charitable Trusts

[caption id="attachment_20431" align="aligncenter" width="517"] Morris Minor 1000, 1963  (Source: Wikipedia commons)[/caption] From the 19th century to about 1990, the testamentary charitable trust was an important estate planning structure.  These trusts are part of the will and are funded after death from estate assets.  At one time, testamentary trusts were the primary way for an individual to support one or more charities or charitable purposes after death.  But they have been….

Testamentary Charitable Trusts Continue Reading »

Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

The Cost of Costs

The matter of the payment of a party’s legal fees at the end of a hard fought court battle can hold up or impact upon settlement. Indeed, oftentimes, the issue of the costs of litigation becomes a subject in and of itself to be argued over in court. Generally, the courts prefer not to adjudicate on costs, particularly when the fight about who should bear the legal fees and in….

The Cost of Costs Continue Reading »

Costs

No good deed goes unpunished by the CRA

Part I – Personal Attribution This blog has been written by Pritika Deepak /Associate at Fasken LLP Gifting property or making loans to family members is a common way for individuals to transfer and share their wealth with their loved ones. There are, however, several rules in the Income Tax Act (Canada)[1] (the “Act”), commonly referred to as the attribution rules, which prevent or restrict an individual from “income splitting”…..

No good deed goes unpunished by the CRA Continue Reading »

Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Family Foundations & the Promise of Harmony

One of the most common philanthropic clichés is that family foundations produce family harmony.  I was recently at a forum of advisors to ultra high net worth clients.  In a moment of candour, someone asked “has anyone used family foundations to promote family harmony, and has it ever worked?”  The answers from the room were uniformly, “yes” and “no”.  Despite the myth of philanthropy as a domestic panacea, the reality….

Family Foundations & the Promise of Harmony Continue Reading »

Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
Scroll to Top