Estate Planning

Total 1068 Posts

My First and Only (Kind of) Experience with the Declarations of Death Act

  This blog was written by Sally Lee, LLB – Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management. When I was in private practice, I worked on a probate file where the deceased was declared dead pursuant to subsection 2(5) of the Ontario Declarations of Death Act.  He was missing for at least seven years and his family members made the application to the court.  I did not work on….

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Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Uncategorized

Fair Market Value Used to Test the Meaning of All or Substantially All of the Assets Used in an Active Business

Under The Income Tax Act (“ITA”), if a taxpayer disposes of property that is all or substantially all of the assets used in an active business for consideration that includes shares of a corporation, the shares are deemed to be capital property. The disposal is considered to be a capital gain and may be eligible for the lifetime capital gains exemption for qualifying companies. This is a very important piece….

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Business Succession Planning, Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, In the News, Investments, Property, Small Business, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Have You Considered Your RESP in Your Estate Plan?

This Blog was written by: Alicia Godin, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust A Registered Education Savings Plan (an “RESP”), is a type of tax deferred savings plan that parents, grandparents and other adults can open to save for the cost of a beneficiary’s post-secondary education. The beneficiary of an RESP is often a child or grandchild. I have recently had a number of questions about what happens to an RESP….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Executors, RESP

Creation of a Trust

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provided guidance on when a testamentary trust is considered to have been created for purposes of the 21 year deemed disposition rule. A trust is deemed to have disposed of its capital property for proceeds equal to the fair market value of the property at the end of the deemed disposition date and to have re-acquired the property immediately after the day for an amount equal….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Executors, Tax Issues, Wills

Donation Shelters: A Tale of Financial Misadventure

Due to my conservative nature and my belief that something that looks too good to be true often is, I have been always nervous about people participating in what appear to be very aggressive charitable donation shelters and people who promote them, particularly shelters which appear to catch the attention of the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) from inception. Recently, I read about a case about a taxpayer who participated in….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, In the News, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Esther the Pig and Animal Sanctuaries

[caption id="attachment_6858" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photograph by Rob MacInnis in a page shot from The Walrus, September 2018[/caption] I am fortunate to work with many animal lovers on their philanthropic estate plans. They are interested in a wide range of  animals and issues. A recent article in The Walrus magazine about the animal sanctuary, registered charity and social media phenomenon Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary highlights a number of key estate planning….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized
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