Under the current rules, a trust only needs to file an annual tax return but generally does not need to file the return if it does not earn an income or make any distributions in the year. (Notwithstanding that the Canada Revenue Agency has increased its demand for “nil returns”…
I was intrigued by the following headline “How a stationary bike, paired with Google Street View, helps seniors with dementia” so decided that this would be the start of this morning’s blog. One of my preferred themes is dementia and the impact it has on everyone. No surprise as “dementia…
On March 22, 2018 the Minister of Finance released the budget implementation bill for the 2018 federal budget (“Budget Bill”), which was tabled on February 27, 2018. The Budget Bill contains some helpful amendments to the second iteration of the tax on split income (“TOSI”) rules that were released on…
This Blog was written by: Peter Meitanis Here’s a question you never thought you would read in an estates blog: Where’s the unibrow? Last month, Mattel, the maker of Barbie introduced a group of new dolls based on real-life figures to celebrate International Women’s Day. The collection features inspiring women…
In Seguin v. Pearson, 2018 ONCA 355, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal of Carol-Anne Seguin from the lower court’s dismissal of her action to invalidate the two most recent wills of her late father, Robert Geddes Paterson (the “deceased”), despite the trial judge’s error in applying…
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was reminded by a taxpayer recipient of the Old Age Security pension (OAS) about a perceived lack of fairness when required to include the dividends received at a grossed-up amount when calculating net income rather than only including the actual amount of dividends received. The…
While we are almost down to the wire and for those who have yet to file their taxes, this blog will highlight the new Canada Caregiver tax credit. This credit replaces the Infirm Dependent, Caregiver and Family Tax credits. It was designed to assist families with caregiving responsibilities to provide…
I sat down to write this blog thinking I would write about a pithy planning idea that all readers would find fascinating. Instead, the events of the past few days have compelled me to write about something quite different. That is, the resilience of humans in the face of tragedy. …
Proposed Change The Canadian donation tax credit regime is generous, but opaque and needlessly complex. The March 28, 2018 Ontario Budget proposed a welcome reform for an intricate system. Too bad the idea is from a government that polls predict will likely to be voted out of office in eight…
A recent Ontario decision, Martin v. Martin [1], considered the minimal evidentiary threshold required to obtain documentary discovery in a will challenge as set out in Seepa v. Seepa. For further background on Seepa, read Rebecca Studin’s previous blog post on that decision. In Martin, the Applicant (the named Estate…