Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Total 173 Posts

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

Best Laid Plans: The Sculpture Fund

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[caption id="attachment_11235" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Florence Wyle and Frances Loring, 1919.  Photo by Robert Flaherty[/caption]   Frances Loring (1887–1968) and Florence Wyle (1881–1968) were Canadian sculptors and life partners. In 1963 they prepared mirror wills to “assist and encourage Canadian Sculpture” through a testamentary trust, The Sculpture Fund.  Their beloved home, a Victorian church in mid-town Toronto, was to become a meeting place for sculptors and artists.  But after their deaths,….

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

Donor Recognition: Servants, Saints and Super Heroes

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In 15th and 16th century Europe donor recognition was negotiable. The biggest donors gave to the church, but the best way to be recognized in a durable way was to underwrite religious art. Albrecht Dürer’s circa 1500 triptych, the Paumgartner Altarpiece, is one of the most arresting examples of the complex dynamic that did, and still does, shape the process of showing gratitude to donors. Donors as Servants The main….

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Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

The Senate Speaks Charity

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It’s hard to underestimate the importance of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector report to that was released on June 20th.  After almost 18 months of hearings and consideration, this once-in-a-generation study came up with 42 recommendation on topics ranging from volunteerism, social enterprise, regulatory system, and judicial review process.  There are five recommendations that deal with giving and tax incentives. Review Tax Measures Recommendation 9 makes a….

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Charitable Giving, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized
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