As an estate planning professional, philanthropy is a great tool in your toolkit. However, if your client intends to incorporate philanthropy into their estate plan, the importance of including a cy‑près clause in their Will cannot be understated. If there is no cy‑près clause in the Will and the charity…
Category: Charitable Giving
I’ve nominated myself to provide you with two highlights from last week’s federal budget announcement, and before I get into the nitty gritty, I provide you with a summary of my qualifications for undertaking this task. My undergraduate studies took a rather meandering path through geography, political science, a few…
This blog has been written by Mahsa Pezeshki, Charity and Not for Profit Clerk at Fasken LLP Vehicles for organized and strategic charitable giving Understanding the differences between these two vehicles is a good starting point for philanthropic planning. Each giving option can be an effective and personal method for…
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…
Gwenyth Stadig, Associate and Upama Poudyal, Articling Student – Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP An increasing number of Canadian taxpayers are interested in giving pieces of art to charities or other qualified donees as part of their estate plans. Some of these Canadian taxpayers are choosing to make decisions to give…
Today’s blog is written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP TV legend Bob Barker passed away on August 26, 2023 at the age of 99 – just 4 months shy of his 100th birthday. Bob was probably most well known for being the legendary host of the…
This blog was written by Courtney Lanthier, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. We often hear in the news of beloved celebrities passing away after years of lucrative careers. It’s also common to speculate as to how their estate will be distributed. Many celebrities have either left, or plan to…
Charitable endowments are having a challenging moment. Despite the historical success of this medieval European charitable fund structure, the accumulation of capital for public benefit has always faced controversy. Endowments, which focus on long-term public benefit, have a built-in tension between capital and annual spending. Does the capital exist…
The cy-près doctrine It is common practice to leave a gift to a charity in your will. However, the charity that the testator wished to support may not have been named properly in the will (leading to confusion about who was supposed to benefit from the funds), or may have…
Philanthropic individuals that own their wealth in a private company may want to set-up a charitable legacy by donating some of their shares or debt to a private foundation. Although this sounds like a great idea, caution needs to be exercised. Donations of private company shares or debt to a…