All About Estates

Darren Lund

Total 48 Posts Website
Darren Lund is a member of the Trust, Wills, Estates and Charities at Fasken, Toronto office. Darren has expertise in a broad range of estate planning matters, including multiple wills, inter vivos trusts, disability planning, estate freezing, and planning for beneficiaries and assets outside Canada. Darren advises trustees and beneficiaries on all aspects of estate administration, both contentious and non-contentious, and his experience includes passing of fiduciary accounts, trust variations, post-mortem tax planning, and administering the Canadian estates of non-residents. He also speaks and writes on a variety of related topics such as estate planning for spouses and couples, inheriting overseas property and estate planning for persons with disabilities. He previously practised estates law at a large national law firm. Email: dlund@fasken.com

Intestacy Reform Overdue in Ontario?

Saskatchewan recently amended its intestacy rules through the enactment of The Intestate Succession Act, 2019 (the “Act”), replacing the former 1996 statute. “Intestacy rules” are the rules that govern the division of a deceased person’s estate if the person dies without a will, or a portion of an estate if…

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The Principal Residence Exemption and Trusts for Disabled Persons Revisited

In 2016, the federal government introduced changes to the definition of “principal residence” in the Income Tax Act (Canada). The changes significantly restricted the types of personal trusts that are eligible to claim the principal residence exemption (“PRE”). As a result of the changes, only three categories of personal trusts…

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Charitable Gifts from Alter Ego Trusts

In Canada we do not have an estate tax. Rather, when an individual dies the individual is deemed to have disposed of his or her capital property immediately before death at fair market value. The deemed disposition triggers the realization of any accrued but unrealized capital gains. As a result,…

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The Time of Your Life (Interest)

I was recently asked about the tax implications of creating a life interest in real property. When I use the term “life interest” in this context I am not referring to a typical scenario in which a property is transferred to trustees and held in a trust, the terms of…

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Draft Legislation Released for Changes to Registered Disability Savings Plans

In the 2019 federal budget, the government announced changes to the rules in the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) that govern registered disability savings plans, or RDSP’s (also referred to in this blog as a “plan”). On July 30, 2019, the Minister of Finance released the draft legislation and explanatory notes…

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Estate Planning, Trusts, and Family Law

Inter vivos trusts are often used in the estate planning process to manage and preserve family wealth across generations. Within that broad framework, such trusts are used for a variety of reasons. Parents or grandparents may want to establish a vehicle for funding the education costs of future generations. A…

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Estate Planning and Family Law: The Matrimonial Home Part II

In a prior blog, I began a discussion of the use of marriage contracts as part of an integrated estate plan to preserve and protect family wealth. In particular, that blog began a discussion of the legal regime that governs a “matrimonial home” under the Ontario Family Law Act (“FLA”),…

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Electronic Beneficiary Designations for Insurance Products

In 2018, the Ontario government introduced amendments to the Pension Benefits Act to permit pension plan administrators to accept electronic beneficiary designations. Specifically, the Pension Benefits Act was amended to include the following provision (among others): Electronic designation of beneficiaries 30.1.1  (1)  Despite anything to the contrary in the Succession…

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Mind the Gap! And Put On Your Parens Patriae

Ontario’s “new” parentage rules, contained primarily in the Children’s Law Reform Act (“CLRA”) and implemented through the All Families Are Equal Act, have been in force for more than two years, having become effective on January 1, 2017. There have now been several reported decisions that interpret and apply the…

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A Cautionary Crypto-Tale

My fellow blogger Maureen Berry and colleague Demetre Vasilounis, Student-at-Law, recently blogged about a form of digital assets that has received limited treatment in Canadian estate law commentary, namely digital assets that continue to generate revenue after the death of the owner, such as the YouTube and Twitch “Partner” programs….

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