Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Total 173 Posts

Spend-down Charitable Funds

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[caption id="attachment_5888" align="aligncenter" width="364"] The middle ground at Indian Battle Park, Lethbridge, Alberta[/caption] Until 2010, the disbursement quota provisions in the Income Tax Act mandated that charities handle donations in one of two ways: for immediate use or held as long-term endowments through the “10-year gift” capital hold mechanism.  These binary rules drove donor and charity behaviour.  The 2010 reforms provided charities with greater flexibility regarding the acceptance and use….

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Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Robert and Signe McMichael’s Complicated Legacy

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[caption id="attachment_5842" align="aligncenter" width="477"] Robert and Signe McMichael signing Gift Agreement with Ontario Premier John Robarts .18 November 1965. Credit CBC[/caption] Robert and Signe McMichael, the namesake of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, were savvy art collectors who made some painful philanthropic and estate planning mistakes.  Visionary Collectors     Starting in 1955, when they were in their early 30s, they started buying landscape paintings by the Group of Seven….

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

Protecting Charitable Interests

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[caption id="attachment_5768" align="aligncenter" width="377"] Charities may struggle with a lack of resources and expertise when defending an interest in an estate.[/caption] Are charities in a will easier to challenge when there are more than five entities named?   This topic came up at a recent lunch with estate planning and litigation colleagues.  One told a cautionary tale of a large estate that was litigated away from a dozen named charities.  The….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Estate Litigation, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

The Endowment Effect

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[caption id="attachment_5640" align="aligncenter" width="463"] St Miguel and the Dragon, 14th Century, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain[/caption] People value objects more when they own or possess them – or at least when they presume ownership.   In cognitive psychology this phenomenon is called the “endowment effect”.    It’s a concept that was seemingly invented to describe a lot of behaviour related to estates, philanthropy and foundations.   It’s time to give it….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

GIFTS – Some Additional Thougths

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Recently, I wrote about the gifting of cash or assets during one’s lifetime as an alternative method of distributing your wealth (beyond what you need to live on comfortably) and possibly avoid taxes (probate, income etc.) at time of death. I suggested that your heirs could use the funds in a manner that will likely cost less tax: For example pay down some personal debt, apply it as a deposit….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Charitable Giving, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Loans, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Probate Tax, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

The Art Collector and the Tax Deal

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[caption id="attachment_12949" align="aligncenter" width="300"] [/caption] A 1953 caricature of Douglas M. Duncan by Alan Reeve. Note the envelopes in his pocket at the lower right.   Douglas Duncan was a pioneering Canadian art dealer and ambitiously hapless businessman.   Known as the dealer and artistic executor of artist David B. Milne, he was legendary for his unopened mail, uncashed cheques and, yes, of course, failure to write a will.  Prior to….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving
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