Doing Things Differently

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The Health Innovation Collaborative (HIC) is a three year project supported by The Green Shield Canada Foundation . Under the helm of Sarah Saso, the executive director, funding was provided to bring major community based organizations to collaborate to improve the lives of seniors. The goal of the project was to address ‘the idea of care coordination to keep people living in their homes as long as possible. The goal….

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Elder Care, Geriatric Care Management, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

New Tax Rules to Hyphenate Estate Litigation – a Defacto “36 month limitation period”?

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There has been a fair amount of discussion about the new rules starting January 1, 2016, and the  tax treatment of charitable gifts after the death of an individual will change significantly. What about the impact on estates that are in litigation? Now, when a gift is made “by will” to a qualified donee  the gift is deemed to have been immediately prior to the death of the individual with….

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Charitable Giving, Estate Litigation

Older clients and capacity – what financial advisors should know

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Last month I had the pleasure of presenting- along with fellow blogger Dr. Ken Shulman – at a Scotiabank conference. Our audience was comprised, for the most part, of ScotiaMcLeod and Private Investor Counsel financial advisors. Dr. Shulman provided a clinical perspective on capacity/incapacity and I focused on the importance to advisors and their clients of planning for potential future incapacity. Dr. Shulman set the stage by reviewing some, in my view….

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Estate Planning

Gifting and Incapacity – A Cautionary Tale

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Parents are living longer and gifting money to their children before they die or by way of a last minute will. Distrust and disbelieve inevitably arise. The courts are called upon more and more to settle family disputes with all of the attendant rancor and costs. The case of Foley v. McIntyre helps sorts out some of the legal issues. ….

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Joint Tenancy, Succession Planning, Testamentary Capacity

Graduated Rate Estates: Does the 36 month rule mean a maximum of 3 taxation years?

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As my fellow bloggers have written, there are now 3 types of testamentary trusts under our tax law: a Graduated Rate Estate (“GRE”), a Qualified Disability Trust (“QDT”) and all other testamentary trusts (“OTT”). Previously, all testamentary trusts were generally taxed in the same way individuals were – at graduated tax rates. Effective January 1, 2016, OTT’s will be taxed at the highest marginal tax rate. However, GRE’s which generally….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, In the News, Investments, Property, Succession Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Wills

OWNERSHIP OF FOREIGN PROPERTY

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The Huffington Post reports that over a third of foreign buyers of real estate in Florida are Canadians. Another article reports that Canadians are the leading buyers of US real estate. In earlier blogs I’ve talked about the specter of US estate taxes that arises when a Canadian dies owning US situs property, like real estate. Besides this complexity, the ownership of foreign property raises the potential for challenges in the administration of an estate. As a result, when developing an estate plan that includes foreign real estate it is important to consider a number of issues, some of which are…….

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Canadian and US Tax Treaty, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Probate Tax, United States, US Taxes, Wills
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