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Will Planning for Beneficiaries

In what might be one of the last pipeline transactions my office will advise on (depending on the outcome of the Government of Canada tax proposals), I ran into an unfortunate situation which served to highlight a fundamental aspect of estate planning: Planning for your beneficiaries. Recently, I reached out to the beneficiaries of the estate I am working on to determine their personal tax positions for this current year…..

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Business Succession Planning, Disability, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Schizophrenia in Late Life and Impact on Decision-Making Capacity

Schizophrenia in adults is the most common illness causing psychosis (a loss of contact with reality, a lack of ability to tell what is real from what is not real in some way). Schizophrenia generally commences in late adolescence or less commonly after age 40 referred to as late onset schizophrenia in DSM-5. Seniors with schizophrenia will likely have had an early onset of the disease with chronic persistent mental….

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Disability, Elder Care, Uncategorized

GIFTS – Some Additional Thougths

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

Principal residence exemption and fire loss

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked to comment on the availability of the principal residence exemption (PRE) when a previously occupied property is destroyed by fire and a decision is made to sell the property in a later year. The taxpayer purchased a house in 2010 which was ordinarily inhabited as a principal residence.  In 2016, the house was completely destroyed by a fire and the taxpayer decided to move….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Cottage, Executors, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

Valuators – 2018 Might be a Very Good Year

I mentioned in my last blog that the government is proposing measures to limit the application of the lifetime capital gains exemption (“LCGE”) to owners of eligible small business corporations, based on age and “reasonableness”. Subject to certain exceptions, the proposals ensure that property held by a trust will no longer be eligible for the LCGE. Under the current proposals, there are transition rules which will permit a one-time multiplication….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, In the News, Investments, Property, Small Business, Succession Planning, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

Advertising for Creditors Just Became Easier in Ontario…Officially!

Last year, a fellow blogger and colleague blogged about “NoticeConnect”, a service to advertise for creditors, which has been thought to be sufficient protection for estate trustees in Ontario. Last month, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the Mills v Dale judgment approved this service as an appropriate method to notify creditors and afforded liability protection under s. 53(1) of the Ontario Trustee Act (“Trustee Act”) to the estate….

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