Estate Planning

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Business Succession Planning and the Next Generation

All business owners face the task of trying to determine what to do with their businesses when they retire or in the event of a sudden death: sell to the next generation, sell to a 3rd party or sell the assets and wind-up the business. According to the Canadian Federation of Business, only about half of business owners have a succession plan. Not having a plan can create a lot….

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Business Succession Planning, Estate Planning, In the News, Small Business, Succession Planning

Not All “Trump Bumpf” is Bluster

As part of the ‘Donald’s’ post-election “promises” we heard rumours that US gift and estate taxes were going to be repealed. While we did not see a repeal, we did see a significant change to the rules related to US gift and estate tax. The particular change came forward in the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) which was signed into law on December 22, 2017. Specifically, the amendment….

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Estate Planning, IRS, Tax Issues, United States, US Taxes

Art Copyright and Estates

[caption id="attachment_6654" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The Derby Day (1856-58), William Powell Firth – The Tate Britain, Public Domain[/caption] Copyright & Art Ernest Gambart was a pioneering art dealer and showman in Victorian England who uncovered the value of art copyright.  His specialty was a triple play.  First, he mounted an exhibition (typically a single painting such as William Powell Firth’s The Derby Day); second, the sold the work; and third, he produced prints for….

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning

TFSA’s and Residency

Recently, one of my blog colleagues wrote on the residency rules regarding tax free saving accounts (TFSA’s). Generally, as an owner of TFSA, if you leave Canada, the accumulated funds may remain in the TFSA without Canadian tax consequences. You can’t make any further contributions but you can make withdrawals. What if in a scenario recently presented in a round table discussion with the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”), the CRA….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Investments, Property, Trustee, Trusts, United States

Life Insurance and Contingent Ownership

Ownership of assets into ‘joint tenancy with right of survivorship” is a mechanism of ownership transfer commonly used for estate planning to address such issues as probate fee and tax avoidance. Recently, this blog site very capably addressed the issues surrounding “joint tenancy” of life insurance in particular (“Life Insurance Joint Tenants” by Corina Weigl May 4, 2018), said issues to include partial loss of ownership and control over the….

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Estate Planning, Insurance, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Probate Tax, Property, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Donate to Eliminate Clauses

Last week I received a call from a client who wished to include a “donate to eliminate” clause in his will. His goal is to wipe-out all taxes in his estate by giving just the right amount to his favorite charities. A few years ago, this planning idea was all the rage in gift planning circles. It turned on a model clause that directed the executor to calculate the value of….

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Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized
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