Today’s blog was written by Courtney Lanthier, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP With prices of basically everything going up these days, it is becoming more difficult for the younger generations (myself included) to be able to afford most things, including those big ticket items like cars and homes. The sad…
There are several ways to extract funds from a business; salary, dividend, bonus or a shareholder loan. When a shareholder withdraws corporate funds by way of a shareholder loan, it will be recorded in the business financial statements and comes with tax implications to the shareholder. This is because, a…
There may be instances where a beneficiary has an immediate need to access funds held in trust yet, the terms of the trust prevent the trustees from proceeding with an income or capital distribution to such beneficiary. In such a situation, if the deed of trust grants the right to…
The Old Age Security (“OAS”) pension is a monthly payment you can get if you are 65 years of age or older. In many cases, Service Canada will automatically enroll you in the year prior to your 65th birthday. To the occasional surprise of some folks, the receipt of OAS…
In past blogs, we discussed income splitting arrangements available to individuals who wish to loan funds to his/her lower income spouse or adult child, or in the case of minor children, a discretionary family trust. Such loans would be used to invest in income producing properties such as marketable securities,…
I was reading recently that approximately $30-trillion in assets will be shifting from one generation to the next across North America in the next few decades, according to consulting firm Accenture. A couple of years ago, I wrote about gifting cash or assets during one’s lifetime as an alternative method…
With its sandy beaches, hiking trails, canoe routes, and wildlife, the Town of Wasaga Beach is a well-loved Ontario vacation destination. However, no town, however idyllic, is immune to lengthy property disputes, especially when the two people fighting are related to each other. Brother A and Brother B were at…
In Neszt v. The Queen 2019 DTC 1105, the taxpayer held two life insurance policies with a life insurance company. He subsequently took personal loans against his life insurance policies. The amount of each such loan was greater than the adjusted cost base of each policy, (being the sum of…
It is well known that Ontario testators enjoy the freedom to distribute their estates as they wish (provided their statutory obligations are met); however, the recent case of RBC v. Scarborough, 2019 ONSC 3369, reminds readers to be cognizant of the impact of debts and liabilities upon those who may…
We have talked about income splitting arrangements available to individuals who wish to loan funds to his/her lower income spouse or adult child, or in the case of minor children, a discretionary family trust. Such loans would be used to invest in income producing properties such marketable securities, mutual funds,…