Estate Planning

Total 1065 Posts

Charitable remainder trusts: what are they and when are they useful?

A charitable remainder trust (CRT), although not widely used in Canada, can be a useful charitable giving tool that generates an immediate tax credit for the donor. In an inter vivos context, an individual establishes an alter ego trust and transfers property to the trust on a tax-deferred basis. The trust holds the property for the benefit of the individual during the individual’s lifetime, entitling the individual to the trust’s income but….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Charitable Giving, Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Tax Issues, Wills

How long is perpetuity?

  [caption id="attachment_16267" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Rome   Credit: David’s Been Here[/caption]   “Is perpetuity 21 years?”, asked a charity colleague.  “Well, no, it’s forever.  Or until the end of time, or as long as we collectively exist,” I answered. Despite my emphatic response, the question is a good one because it underscores the inherent meaninglessness of the phrase “in perpetuity” in relation to charitable donations, trusts….

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Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Tax planning in uncertain times

Tax planning can be very complicated with an Income Tax Act (“Act”) consisting of over 1.1 million words. This is a far cry from the original 4,000 words of the Act’s predecessor, Income War Tax Act[1], which was originally enacted as a temporary measure in 1917. The more than 3,000 pages contained in the Act is the legislation that governs our Canadian income tax system that is supplemented by precedent….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Practice Management, Tax Issues

The Hot Housing Market and Important Planning Considerations

House prices across Ontario have seen incredible growth over the past 18 months, in part because of changing work and living arrangements as a result of the pandemic. As described in a recent Toronto Star article, the average house price in the GTA as of July 2021 was $1,062,256, a 12.6% increase from a year prior. For many young adults, the only way to enter the housing market is with….

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Estate Planning

AMENDING TAX ELECTIONS AFTER THE FACT

The rollover provisions of the Income Tax Act, under subsection 85, permit a taxpayer to elect to transfer “eligible property” to a taxable Canadian corporation in exchange for consideration that includes at least one share of the corporation. “Eligible property” includes most capital property, Canadian or foreign resource property, eligible capital property and inventory, other than inventory that is real property. Where the taxpayer and the corporation agree upon an….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Investments, Small Business, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

The Question of Executor: Who, What, When, Where and Why?

This blog was written by Maggie Dalke – Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management Estate planning can be very complex and there is always a lot of detail to cover with our clients. We look at how to achieve a tax efficient estate, address estate liquidity, beneficiary designations, family dynamics, cross-border considerations and how estate law intersects with other areas of law such as family law, corporate law….

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Estate Planning, Executors, Wills
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