Trusts

Total 213 Posts

Supreme Court likely to leave Henson Trusts alone

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A month from now, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear a case that may provide some guidance on the issue of what interest a beneficiary of a discretionary trust has in that trust. The high court has granted leave to appeal in the case of S.A. v. Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation. While some have worried that this case may impact Henson-style trusts (discretionary trusts set up to not impact….

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Estate Litigation, Trusts

To vary or not to vary

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The Canada Revenue Agency recently responded to a ruling request as to whether or not a proposed amendment to a trust agreement could be so significant to cause a resettlement of the trust, or a disposition of a beneficiary’s interest in the trust Before the enactment of variation of trusts legislation, trustees were generally bound to administer the trust according to its terms.  Unless specifically allowed in the trust deed,….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Executors, Tax Issues, Trustee, Trusts

Trust Allocations and Gifts to Family Members

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A common estate planning technique is to structure a family trust which owns the shares of a small business corporation in such a way that allows each beneficiary (most commonly being members of the taxpayer’s immediate family – spouse and/or children) to participate in the sale or disposition of the business, thereby utilizing their life time capital gains exemption and potentially saving several hundred thousand dollars in taxes payable on….

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Business Succession Planning, Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Planning, Investments, Property, Small Business, Tax Issues, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized

The Principal Residence Exemption and Qualified Disability Trusts

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I previously blogged about changes that could be made to the current qualified disability trust (“QDT”) rules to make them more flexible. In that blog I briefly referred to changes to the principal residence exemption that limit the types of personal trusts that can use the exemption, one of which is a QDT. A QDT, like the other eligible trusts under the new principal residence rules, must have a “specified….

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Disability, Trusts

Henson Trusts Revisited

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In January, the British Columbia Court of Appeal released its decision in S.A. v. Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (“S.A.”), 2017 BCCA 2, dismissing the appeal of S.A., who was the original Petitioner. In its reasons, the B.C. Court of Appeal includes a discussion of trusts commonly referred to as “Henson Trusts”[1]. On November 16, 2017, S.A. was granted leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. The….

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Estate Planning, Trusts

Estate and Trusts with Foreign Properties and/or Transactions: Update on Reporting Implications

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Sometime ago, I wrote that the Income Tax Act requires persons and partnerships to file information returns in respect of foreign property ownership (specified foreign property in excess $100,000) and transactions with non-residents . This extends to trusts and estates. Those who file such a return late or do not file one on demand are liable to a penalty or penalties. Generally speaking, a penalty starts at a minimum of….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Executors, In the News, International, Investments, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized, United States
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