All About Estates

Tag: Fasken

Total 11 Posts

Atypical Asset Administration (Part 2)

This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Welcome back! This is Part 2 of a two-part series on unusual assets and estate administration. For part one, please see my blog post here. Typical assets in an estate consist of real property, automobiles, corporations, investments,…

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A Cautionary Crypto-Tale

My fellow blogger Maureen Berry and colleague Demetre Vasilounis, Student-at-Law, recently blogged about a form of digital assets that has received limited treatment in Canadian estate law commentary, namely digital assets that continue to generate revenue after the death of the owner, such as the YouTube and Twitch “Partner” programs….

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A Deathly Reminder

The recent passing of Aretha Franklin on August 16 means the music industry has lost yet another icon. It also, however, serves a useful reminder – even those who appear to have all the financial success in the world, don’t necessarily ensure their financial affairs are in order. Shortly following…

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Welcome Amendments to the ODSP General Regulation

Please note, this blog has since been updated here. In my last blog, I began looking at the treatment of the “matrimonial home” under the Ontario Family Law Act, and promised to continue that discussion in my next blog, which of course is this blog. I have decided to put…

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Not All “Trump Bumpf” is Bluster

As part of the ‘Donald’s’ post-election “promises” we heard rumours that US gift and estate taxes were going to be repealed. While we did not see a repeal, we did see a significant change to the rules related to US gift and estate tax. The particular change came forward in…

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Life Insurance Joint Tenants[1]

I think it is fair to say that joint ownership of property[2] is one of the most commonly used strategies for property ownership in the context of developing an estate plan.  Like any form of partnership, there are many issues to consider in jointly owning property.  In the context of…

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Death and TOSI Part 2: Spouses

My past two blogs have looked at the December 13, 2017 draft legislation that amends and expands the tax on split income (“TOSI”) rules. In my last blog I outlined some of the special rules that apply (in the context of TOSI) to income and gains on property that is…

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Safe Space: Governance in Action

For most businesses they evaluate their success by quarters or perhaps terms described as “short”, “medium” and “long”. For a family business, they measure success by ensuring the company is preserved for the next generation and beyond.  And despite the statistics which suggest that successfully transitioning a family business to…

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No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

The phrase “No good deed goes unpunished” is often attributed to Clara Boothe Luce, an American Dramatist, who was the first American woman appointed to a significant ambassadorial post abroad. Today it is often used to express the idea that beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with hostility. …

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Your Family Trust Has a Non-Resident Beneficiary

In today’s world of international families it is not uncommon for a Canadian family to have one or more members that are non-residents of Canada. When that same family has set up a Canadian discretionary family trust that is intended to benefit its members with, say distributions from a family…

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