Baker Tilly WM LLP

LIFE INSURANCE IN THE COVID-19 ERA

As someone who has been around the life insurance industry in a professional and personal capacity for several decades, I am always curious about what motivates people to buy or not buy life insurance. I understand that few people spend time thinking about the consequences of low-probability events and are therefore disinclined to consider the need for life insurance. I would have thought the COVID-19 pandemic would increase public awareness….

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Business Succession Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, In the News, Insurance, Investments, Property, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

TFSA’s and Survivor Payments: Impact of Fair Market Value.

In this space, sometime ago, a fellow blogger wrote about how survivor payments made out of a deceased’s tax free savings account (TFSA)  to the deceased’s spouse TFSA would qualify as an “exempt contribution” (i.e. the contribution room in the surviving spouse’s TFSA would not be affected by the addition of these funds), even if the spouse was not designated beneficiary of the TFSA. What are the implications to the….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Investments, Property, Tax Issues, Uncategorized, Wills

ON A PAPER NAPKIN, DID YOU SAY?

The Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan was recently asked (in the case of Gust vs. Langan et al., 2020 SKQB 42) whether a will handwritten on a paper napkin created by the deceased sometime before his death met the requirements of being a valid will under the relevant Act to permit it to be accepted as a valid holograph will.  The Court had to decide whether the will met the test….

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Contested wills, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Property, Wills

Low- Interest Environment: Time To Take Advantage Again.

In past blogs, we discussed income splitting arrangements available to individuals who wish to loan funds to his/her lower income spouse or adult child, or in the case of minor children, a discretionary family trust. Such loans would be used to invest in income producing properties such as marketable securities, mutual funds, real estate income trusts (to name a few). The income from these properties less the interest paid on….

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Business Succession Planning, Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Interest, Investments, Loans, Property, Real Estate, Small Business, Spouse, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

Had A Henson Trust Been Created? Tribunal Was Not Convinced

Individuals can apply for support through government disability programs such as the Ontario Disability Support Program (“ODSP”) subject to maximums for levels of assets and income. For a single adult with no dependents applying under the ODSP the asset limit is currently $40,000. The OSDP regulations prescribe how assets are determined and creates several exemptions. Monies that are held not available to a recipient because they are held in a….

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Disability, Healthcare, In the News, Uncategorized

Disability Tax Credit Claim: Denied on Appeal

As many of you know the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is a credit to income tax otherwise payable, available for those with a severe or prolonged impairment. It is meant to provide some relief from the additional costs and expenses incurred associated with the impairment. I have written in the past that for many in and/or associated with the provision of tax advice and preparation, the application and qualification for ….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Caregiving, Courts, Disability, Elder Law, Healthcare, In the News, Uncategorized
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