Sebastien Desmarais

Total 54 Posts

Sébastien Desmarais is a Tax and Estate Planner at TD Wealth, Wealth Advisory Services.

Succession of the Family Business – Don’t Overlook Governance

Successful entrepreneurs often view the family business as the crown jewel to their legacy for the next generation(s). As such, succession planning for the family business and preserving the family’s wealth is always a top priority and often encompasses tax and estate planning. Implementing a succession plan that will ensure the continuation of the family business while preserving the family’s wealth can be challenging for professional advisors who are assisting….

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Business Succession Planning, Estate Planning, Family Conflict

Gifting Farmland, an Estate Strategy?

Gifting property to the next generation is an estate strategy at its simplest form. For farming families, farm succession planning can often be complex considering the difficulties associated with “equalizing” a farmer’s estate between their children in circumstances where a child is actively involved in the farming business while the other is not. An equalization option that is sometimes considered by the farmer is to sever the farmland with the….

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Farm, Property, Real Estate, Succession Planning, Tax Issues

Dual Citizens, U.S. and Tax

Dual U.S.-Canadian citizens residing in Canada may want to pay particular attention to the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 (the “Act”); a proposed bill establishing that “citizens of the United States shall owe sole and exclusive allegiance to the United States […]”.[1] Under the proposed bill, dual citizens have one (1) year from the date of the enactment of the Act to submit a written renunciation of their foreign (e.g…..

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Canadian and US Tax Treaty, Tax Issues, U.S. Citizen, United States, US Taxes

Love, Marriage and U.S. Tax…

Love knows no boundaries and neither do the U.S. tax rules. Marrying a U.S. citizen will result in U.S. tax implications for the couple that should not be ignored. This article will review a few U.S. tax considerations for married couples (that include a U.S. citizen). Proper Tax Filing Contrary to Canada, the U.S. tax filing requires an individual taxpayer to file their tax return as “single” or “married filing….

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Succession Planning, Tax Issues, U.S. Citizen, US Taxes

Corporate Documentation – Key to Executor

As part of a good estate plan for a business owner, it is important to ensure the business documentation is current and easily accessible to the executor. Keeping up-to-date documentation will minimize the risk of an oversight by the executor or a mistake resulting from obsolete documentation. What documents should be kept current? Here is a non-exhaustive list: Corporate minute book – it is important for the corporate minute book….

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Farm Succession – The Numbers Are Telling

At least once in your life you’ll need a doctor, a lawyer and a preacher. But every day, three times a day, you need a farmer (Brenda Schoepp). Farming plays a pivotal role in our economy as it fulfills our basic daily necessities and it is in everyone’s interest that our Canadian farms continue to prosper in the future. According to the Statistics Canada 2021 Census of Agriculture (the “Census”)[1] There….

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Business Succession Planning, Family Conflict
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