Estate Planning

Last week the Supreme Court of Canada came out with its long awaited decision in the Combined Air Mechanical Services Inc. v. Flesch omnibus ruling.  The appeals were dismissed; however, the Supreme Court found the Court of Appeal’s full appreciation test too burdensome and creates a new Roadmap/Approach to be used on Summary Judgment motions. The test is as follows: The judge should first determine if there is a genuine….

Years ago I worked at a charitable foundation of a large cancer hospital. One day I was visited by an older patient who wanted to donate shares owned by his late wife. He was her executor and sole beneficiary, and two years after her death he had not initiated the administration of her estate. Clearly overwhelmed, he believed a gift would help simplify his life and generate some tax savings…..

In the usual litigation battle, a release operates as a “shield” in the sense that if a beneficiary sues an estate trustee, the estate trustee can use the release as a defence.  In Re: Sheard, the estate trustees were able to use signed releases to preclude them from having to pass their accounts for the period covered by releases. In Re: Sheard, the estate trustees made two interim distributions.  Each….

The Income Tax Act (“ITA”) requires persons and partnerships to file information returns in respect of foreign property ownership and transactions with non-residents. This extends to trusts and estates. Those who file such a return late or do not file one on demand are liable to a penalty or penalties. Generally speaking, a penalty starts at a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500, if over 100 days late…..

I had an opportunity to participate in a discussion on resources provided by the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC for short). Part of my role as a geriatric care manager is to make sure our clients are living as well as they can and this includes being aware of resources and associated costs. As I have always said when dealing with POA’s, is that care requirements need to be supported….

In October 2013 the British Columbia Court of Appeal released its decision in Carter v. Canada overturning the BC Supreme Court’s decision which, inter alia, determined that s.241(b) of the Criminal Code banning assisted suicide infringed a person’s s.7 Charter rights. The Court of Appeal could not distinguish Carter from the 1993 SCC decision in Rodriguez which upheld s.241(b) and found Rodriguez governed and accordingly overturned the lower court’s decision…..