All About Estates

Katie Ionson

Total 32 Posts Website
Katie Ionson is an Associate at Fasken Wealth Management, Charities and Not-for-Profit Group. As part of her wealth management practice, Katie assists clients with Wills, powers of attorney, trusts, marriage and domestic contracts, and trust and estate administration. She has experience using estate planning to address a variety of client objectives, including income splitting arrangements, asset protection and business succession issues. Katie is engaged in a broad practice in the areas of charities and not-for-profit law, which includes preparing applications for charitable status, assisting clients with transitioning to the new federal or provincial not-for-profit legislation, drafting endowment and gift agreements and advising on administrative and tax-related issues. Email: kionson@fasken.com

How are RESPs Dealt with in Equalizing Net Family Property?

By Katie Ionson • September 30, 2016

I was recently asked how RESPs effect the calculation of a spouse’s net family property (“NFP”) for purposes of Ontario’s Family Law Act. Because a RESP is considered the property of the subscriber, and not a trust, it generally forms part of the subscriber’s estate on his or her death….

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Once a Qualifying Spousal Trust, Always and Qualifying Spousal Trust – and a Note on Deathbed Holograph Wills

By Katie Ionson • August 12, 2016

During the June 10, 2016 Toronto STEP Conference Roundtable, the CRA was asked to provide its views on paragraph 8 of IT-3054, which states: Once a trust qualifies as a spouse trust under the terms of subsection 70(6), it remains a spouse trust and is subject to the provisions affecting…

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Satisfaction or Your Money Back (And Not a Cent More) – Felty v. Ernst & Young LLP

By Katie Ionson • July 22, 2016

Felty v. Ernst & Young LLP, 2015 BCCA 445, is an interesting case from the Court of Appeal of British Columbia. The issue on appeal was whether the trial judge erred in concluding that a retainer agreement clause limiting the respondent firm’s liability to the amount of its fees was…

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Can an executor act as a witness to a Will?

By Katie Ionson • June 24, 2016

Two witnesses are sometimes hard to find. In a pinch, could an individual who is appointed as an executor under a Will act as a witness to that Will? In Ontario, the rules governing the formalities of Wills, including the eligibility of witnesses, are set out in the Succession Law…

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Mutual Wills – May Require Less than You’d Think

By Katie Ionson • June 3, 2016

Reciprocal wills contain terms that mirror one another and are frequently prepared for couples. Mutual Wills are reciprocal Wills that the testators have agreed cannot be changed, at least without the consent of the other. Where there is no written agreement, the question arises: when do reciprocal Wills become mutual…

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DNR Order Confirmation Form – A Directive is Not Enough

By Katie Ionson • May 16, 2016

Clients who have strong preferences regarding their personal care sometimes include wishes or directions for their attorney to follow in making health care decisions on their behalf. These wishes or directions may include the client’s desire that the hospital refrain from administering CPR or other resuscitation. In addition or alternatively,…

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Pension Beneficiary Designations – Don’t Forget the Tax!

By Katie Ionson • April 22, 2016

In Will drafting, it is common to include beneficiary designations for life insurance, TFSAs and RRSPS/RRIFs, but sometimes pension plans are overlooked. If the client has a spouse (married or common law), the spouse will automatically receive the client’s pension survivor benefits pursuant to Ontario law. However, members of a plan generally have the ability to designate a non-spouse beneficiary to receive benefits in the event that they die with no spouse surviving. In Ontario, the ability to designate a beneficiary by Will to receive benefits from a pension plan on a member’s death is found in sections 50 and 51 of the Succession Law Reform Act.

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The 2016 Federal Budget and Personal Wealth Planning

By Katie Ionson • April 1, 2016

On March 22nd, Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the 2016 Federal Budget (the “Budget”). As expected, the Budget contained a number of measures impacting personal wealth planning. Some of the more significant measures include:

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Newly Released RDSP Circular

By Katie Ionson • February 19, 2016

On February 10, the CRA released a circular on Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs, or RDSP, in the singular). A RDSP is a plan that provides savings for individuals eligible to receive the disability tax credit (DTC). To qualify for the DTC, a physician must certify that the intended recipient has a “severe and prolonged mental or physical impairment”.

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CRA Commentary on 74.4(2) Planning and Dividend Payments

By Katie Ionson • February 5, 2016

The CRA recently published a severed letter in which it considered the applicability of subsection 74.4(2) to two scenarios involving the payment of dividends from a small business corporation to a holding company, for the benefit of “designated persons”. Generally, subsection 74.4(2) applies to a transfer or loan of property made, directly or indirectly, by an individual to a corporation that is not a small business corporation, if it is reasonable to consider that one of the main purposes of the transfer is to reduce the individual’s income and benefit, directly or indirectly, someone who qualifies as a “designated person” in respect of the individual (e.g. a minor child or spouse).

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