Estate Donation

Canadian Donation Incentives Explained

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Generous but Complex and Opaque Canada has the most generous tax incentives for charitable giving in the world, but few Canadians understand what they save and how the system works. Why the paradox?  Here’s a longer-than-usual blog providing an overview for your future reference. For starters, it is helpful to understand that the Canadian tax system is grounded in unspoken social policy: we all must contribute to society, but there….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Tax Issues

Donate to Eliminate Clauses

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Last week I received a call from a client who wished to include a “donate to eliminate” clause in his will. His goal is to wipe-out all taxes in his estate by giving just the right amount to his favorite charities. A few years ago, this planning idea was all the rage in gift planning circles. It turned on a model clause that directed the executor to calculate the value of….

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

Estate Donations for Charities Not Yet Registered

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The 2018 Federal Budget hinted that Canadian newspapers may be able to receive charitable status in the future.  As I’ve previously written, making non-profit and local journalism an eligible charitable purpose is a timely idea — and it has implications for donor planning their estates.  The Federal Budget got me thinking of a charitable planning conundrum: donors who wish to support a cause that is not yet charitable at law….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Endowments and Perpetuity

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“Is perpetuity 21 years?” asked a charity colleague.  “No, it’s forever, until the end of time, or as long as we collectively exist,” I answered.  Despite my pedantic response, the question is a good one because it underscores the inherent meaninglessness of the phrase “in perpetuity” in relation to charitable endowments. My colleague’s charity was reviewing its endowment policy and having an internal debate about the term of funds.  One opinion….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Estate Donations & Non-Qualifying Securities

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Since the announcement of the “estate donation” rules in the 2014 Federal Budget, there have been a number of amendments that have addressed sector concerns and drafting errors.   One unintended consequence in the original estate donation provisions relates to gifts of private company shares. At the June 2015 STEP conference in Toronto, Canada Revenue Agency confirmed that all estate donations of private company shares to any registered charity would be….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
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