Estate Planning

In my last blog of August 14, 2015 I referred to the discretionary family trust as being one of the key tools in the estate planner’s toolbox. I made this statement given the flexible nature of this tool. I also, however, noted that it is often the case that little time is spent with the creator of the trust to detail their intent as to the circumstances for when the trustee is to make a distribution to a beneficiary…..

The relationship between suicide and mental disorder has been well explored.  The recent death of Robin Williams has brought this issue into the public eye. Most studies (especially in later life) find that the majority of suicides are associated with clinically significant psychiatric illness, particularly mood disorders such as Depression.  Moreover, suicide notes are left by about 25% of people who die from suicide.  How many of those notes contain….

Today’s blog is written by William Lim, a law student at Western University and research assistant to Professor Adam Parachin, associate professor of law at Western University. As discussed in a recent blog by Professor Adam Parachin, the Court in McCorkill v. Streed 2014 NBQB 148 took the unusual step of striking an unconditional bequest to the National Alliance, a white supremacist organization, on the basis of public policy. The….

I was at a conference for professional valuators and appraisers from around North America. There was a session devoted to the do’s and don’ts when dealing with the tax authorities on disputes with valuations, presented by two gentlemen with considerable experience with tax disputes on both sides of the border. I was interested in hearing that while estate and gift tax returns have a high audit focus in the USA….