What’s a charity to do when a donor asks for a gift to be returned? As my fellow blogger Derek de Gannes recently reported, CRA provided a technical interpretation in response to a charity inquiry relating to life insurance policy donated in 1981. The gift was intended for a discontinued program and now the donor wants his policy back. Returning the donation may be “regarded as making a gift to a….
Returning a gift after 36 years Continue Reading »
UncategorizedRegular readers of the All About Estates blog may recall that each spring I write on legacy and how we honour the dead. This usually involves a trip to a cemetery. My cemetery visit this year was thwarted by a seagull attack – see my Hitchcockian video – so instead I will turn my attention to a historical bequest and recognition debacle. Bartolomeo Colleoni (1400-1475) was Lombardy-born general who served….
A Statue in the Wrong Square Continue Reading »
Estate Donations, Estate Litigation, Philanthropy/Charitable GivingIt is a truism that Canadians who donate enough to charity at death can eliminate tax. This outcome is due to the 100% contribution limit for gifts by will and direct designation gift of registered funds and life insurance. Since 2015, however, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Yukon have increased the top marginal tax rate, but not top donation tax credit rates. In many cases estates with large donations to….
Donation Tax Credit Mismatch Continue Reading »
Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized“Is perpetuity 21 years?” asked a charity colleague. “No, it’s forever, until the end of time, or as long as we collectively exist,” I answered. Despite my pedantic response, the question is a good one because it underscores the inherent meaninglessness of the phrase “in perpetuity” in relation to charitable endowments. My colleague’s charity was reviewing its endowment policy and having an internal debate about the term of funds. One opinion….
Endowments and Perpetuity Continue Reading »
Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, UncategorizedIs a donor obliged to provide ongoing support to a charity after a building or facility is named in their honour? The legal answer is “no”. Naming, however, may stir up complex feelings of ownership and hope, which often lead to misunderstandings — even after the donor is dead. Ownership Donors and their descendants understandably feel ownership for a facility in the family name. The place, for example, may define….
Does Donor Recognition Create Obligations? Continue Reading »
Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, UncategorizedCharities like to name things after donors. Simply, big gifts mean more prominent “naming opportunities”. Ontario’s Minister of Health recently issued a directive to hospitals stipulating that they can’t rename existing hospitals in recognition of donations. Is “naming” a risk for major donors? What are the estate planning implications? Ontario’s New Rules First, let’s look at Minister Eric Hoskin’s directive. It says the new hospital name “must not include the….
Approving Donor Recognition Continue Reading »
Uncategorized