All About Estates

Category: Estate Planning

Total 902 Posts

Administering an Estate: A Marathon of Responsibilities

We had a Zoom call with our adult children a few weekends ago. We talked about our son’s engagement, as our daughter hadn’t yet heard the details of how he had proposed. We also talked about our daughter’s recent 5K run at the Toronto Zoo and how it compared to…

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DONOR ADVISED FUNDS AND PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS

This blog has been written by Mahsa Pezeshki, Charity and Not for Profit Clerk at Fasken LLP Vehicles for organized and strategic charitable giving Understanding the differences between these two vehicles is a good starting point for philanthropic planning. Each giving option can be an effective and personal method for…

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Videos and Wills: Helpful or Harmful?

Pictured: A screen grab from the music video for “Only Acting” by Kero Kero Bonito. It’s one of my favourite songs. It’s not quite about video wills, but it does show off some of the challenges of recording oneself. What are Video Wills? Some practitioners have floated the idea of…

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Pay Your Taxes, or Your Widow(er) Might Have To

This blog has been written by Maddi Thomas, Associate at Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Beneficiary designations are commonly used by individuals to allow registered retirement savings plans (“RRSP”) and other savings accounts to “pass outside of the estate”, i.e., be distributed or transferred outright to a surviving co-owner; or, in…

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Donating Internationally

Canadian donors who wish to support foreign charities and international charitable initiatives have historically had limited options.  While there are about 3,000 registered charities with international activities and another 700 foreign universities with qualified donee status, there are coverage gaps.  It’s a big world with lots of needs. Starting in…

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Firearms, Wills, Estates, and the impact of Bill C-21

Bill C-21- An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms)   This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Estates practitioners should be aware that Bill C-21, the controversial legislation which imposes strict gun control provisions Canada-wide, received Royal Assent…

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Equalizing an Estate Where One of More Children are U.S. Persons and Planning Strategies Where There Are U.S. Beneficiaries; Part I

In circumstances where clients, who are Canadian residents, intend to equalize their estates amongst their children (“Equalization Intention”) where one or more of such children are “U.S. Persons” (a “U.S. Child”), estate planners need to consider whether that is possible and if so, how (“whether” and “how”, the “Questions”).  This…

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Estate Planning and the Changes to the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR)

Estate advisors looking at tax minimization and corporate restructuring of their clients’ affairs as part of their estate and wealth planning will now need to consider the new changes to the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR). Bill C-59 was introduced in Parliament on November 30th, 2023, and a section of the…

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Life is Simple. People are Complicated, including by Culture.

This blog has been written by Rahul Sharma, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto I seem to keep bumping into quotes that remind me that life is simple, but people are complicated.  There are perhaps many ingredients to this complexity.  Culture is one of them. Last week, I presented at…

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When a Financial Plan meets an Estate Plan

Our lives were upended a few years ago by the pandemic, and things since then have been anything but typical.  From elevated inflation to skyrocketing interest rates, our expectations for the future and our perceptions of what is normal have been challenged.  The word “unprecedented” may be overused, but it…

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