Estate Donations of Art

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Fine art is an asset class that has been growing in importance among the affluent and is beginning to be a significant part of certain estate plans.   One estimate pegged the international art market at €51 billion in 2014, and Canada has seen record prices at auction.   Many collectors are contemplating donating their art at death, but the process has its challenges. The top-of-mind recipients of art are galleries and….

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

Is it time to review your Will?

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It’s a new year, and for many, with that comes new resolutions! My fellow blogger, Elaine Blades, recently encouraged those readers who are among the 50% of Canadians without a Will to add “making a Will” to their goals for 2016. If you have a Will, you may also wish to consider adding “reviewing your Will” to your resolution list if: You or your intended beneficiaries have experienced significant family….

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Estate Planning, Wills

Where there’s 41 million wills, there’s a way

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“41 million wills available to search online for the first time,” a press release from the UK’s Ministry of Justice trumpeted. The truth is somewhat more prosaic, but still reflects an excellent initiative that should be emulated by Ontario. The UK government, in partnership with Iron Mountain, has electronically archived 41 million wills dating back to 1858, including those of “Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, Alan Turing and Beatrix Potter.” However,….

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Estate Planning, Executors, In the News

Charitable Donations by Graduated Rate Estates – Substituted Property

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The new Canadian tax rules concerning charitable donations of graduated rate estates restrict those donations to gifts of properties acquired by an estate as a result of the death of an individual or of properties substituted for those properties.
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Canada Revenue Agency, Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Executors, Property, Tax Issues, Wills

May I help you…with that resolution?

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How many resolutions did you make this year? One? Three? Five? Or are you one of the super ambitious (not to mention optimistic) types, having made 10 or more? While getting in shape and eating better are the perennial winners of the “most popular resolution” award, getting organized, procrastinating less and lowering stress levels/worrying less generally make the top 10. While this blog may not be able to help you with….

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Estate Planning

Looking back, looking forward

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At year end, we typically engage in a retrospective examination, looking back on events and trying to make sense of them.  Simultaneously, there is a human instinct to make predictions as well as resolutions, both of which are notoriously unreliable.  The notion of predicting the future is one that is inherent in medicine by virtue of the fundamental role of a physician to make a diagnosis, but also concomitantly a….

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Undue influence
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