Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Total 171 Posts

Should Foundations Give More?

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Charitable foundations are grappling with their response to COVID-19.  A Canadian initiative, Give5.ca, is advocating for increased granting through a time limited pledge in 2020.  Simply, the ask is for foundations to pledge to grant at least of five percent of their assets to registered charities in 2020.  That’s it. There are no restrictions related to cause or type of charity. Give5 is a movement initiated by a broad coalition….

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Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

The Plague and Charitable Bequests

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[caption id="attachment_12694" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Tabernacle by Orcagna, 1359, Orsanmichelle, Florence[/caption] In 1348 the plague hit Florence – and Europe – hard. Half the population died in this densely populated city of 80,000. One result of this mass die-off was 350,000 florins of bequests to one organization, Orsanmichele, a grain market with a miracle producing Madonna shrine.  How much is 350,000 florins?  It was equal to the annual budget of the….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Charitable Remainder Trusts in Canada

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The Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is a gift planning structure that rarely works in Canada.  An import from the U.S. – where it is an integral part of the gift and estate tax regime – the CRT in Canada has fewer tax and planning benefits.  It’s a foreign plant that doesn’t thrive in the Canadian soil. CRTs in the U.S. Introduced in 1969, U.S. CRTs are a defined structure in….

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

Estate Donations to Government

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The title of this blog may provoke laughter, or perhaps, just head-shaking disbelief.  But estate donations to various levels of government do happen. The trick is to ensure that the donor’s intentions are carried out. The Crown – i.e. federal and provincial governments – and Canadian municipalities are qualified donees under the Income Tax Act. Agents of the Crown are also generally included – for example, government agency or university….

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Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Donations from Spousal and Other Trusts

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[caption id="attachment_11560" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Operation, Christian Schad, Lenbachhaus, Munich[/caption] To paraphrase the common law, a gift must be “freely given without consideration”. “Consideration” means without expectation of benefit, which eliminates contractual or other binding rights. This concept was addressed by my colleague Darren Lund in a recent All About Estates blog on charitable donations from alter ego and spousal trusts. Tax Credit or Certainty? The issue: how can a testamentary….

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

Transferring Wealth During Your Lifetime

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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 of distributing your wealth and possibly avoid taxes at time of death. Though there is no inheritance tax in Canada….

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Business Succession Planning, Estate Planning, Investments, Loans, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Probate Tax, Real Estate, Succession Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized
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