Section 3 Counsel’s Entitlement to Costs

The Court in Gadula v Leroux, 2016 ONSC 6990 provided quite an interesting discussion regarding the entitlement of costs for all parties involved in a guardianship application and from where the costs were to be taken from. The issue of costs is unsurprisingly common in estate litigation and in litigation in general, because let’s face it, nobody likes spending money. The court made some especially intriguing comments regarding the entitlement….

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Uncategorized

Tax Considerations for Gifts of Art in Canada PART TWO

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Gwenyth Stadig, Associate and Upama Poudyal, Articling Student  – Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP This article forms part two of a two part series detailing the benefits and requirements of donating art for Canadian taxpayers to consider as part of their estate planning needs. Part one of this article series explored the benefits and three legal requirements for gifts of art. This article will continue the discussion on the requirements.   You can find….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Charitable Giving, Tax Issues

Equalizing an Estate Where One of More Children are U.S. Persons and Planning Strategies Where There Are U.S. Beneficiaries; Part I

In circumstances where clients, who are Canadian residents, intend to equalize their estates amongst their children (“Equalization Intention”) where one or more of such children are “U.S. Persons” (a “U.S. Child”), estate planners need to consider whether that is possible and if so, how (“whether” and “how”, the “Questions”).  This is Part I of a three-Part blog series discussing a few considerations that tax and estate advisors may wish to….

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

The Apostille Convention – working with public documents abroad

The joy of working with clients with multi-jurisdictional assets and families can be dampened by the frustrations triggered by working with authorities in those jurisdictions for the timely administration of estates. Having proper authentication of key estate administration documents – birth and death certificates, divorce judgments, probate certificates come to mind – can be enough to bring an experienced practitioner to tears (happened to a friend, not to me) –….

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International

Estate Planning and the Changes to the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR)

Estate advisors looking at tax minimization and corporate restructuring of their clients’ affairs as part of their estate and wealth planning will now need to consider the new changes to the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR). Bill C-59 was introduced in Parliament on November 30th, 2023, and a section of the Bill amends section 245 of the Income Tax Act (the Act) and the GAAR provisions found in subsection 245 of the Act…..

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Estate Planning, Succession Planning, Tax Issues

Contempt of Court

We’ve all heard of contempt of court, a common fixture in many courtroom dramas and law-related TV shows. In reality, civil contempt of court is quite uncommon, arising only on occasion during contentious litigation. In the estates context, contempt of court is most often linked to a party’s refusal to account for, release or transfer funds as directed by the court. For a litigant, it can be very disheartening to….

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Courts, Estate Litigation
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