All About Estates

Month: November 2010

Total 22 Posts

There is an incentive to read this blog post,

The primary objective behind the use of either Intervivos Trusts or Testamentary Trusts in an Estate plan is to manage the transfer of wealth. Many people opt to transfer wealth using a trust because of the tax savings available from splitting income or because of the creditor-proof nature of a…

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Legal fees

Legal fees to settle an estate are generally not deductible for tax purposes. When do legal fees become tax deductible, if ever?

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Joint Tenancy Tax Issues

Last week my colleague, Laura West, spoke about some of the non-tax pitfalls that can arise when transferring property into joint tenancy with a family member. This week I’m here to follow-up with a discussion of the tax implications that should be considered before changing ownership of property to joint tenancy.

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CAN A FAMILY CAREGIVER BE PAID?

Can A Family Caregiver Be Paid?

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Coping with the family in family business succession planning

“More than 50%” is the oft quoted statistic for the percentage of Canadians who do not have a valid Will. According the BDO Dunwoody/Compass Report on Canadian Family Business, a staggering 78% of business owners do not have a succession strategy for their business in place. The same report showed…

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Legal Advocacy for Canada’s Aging Population

Twenty years from now seniors are expected to account for 25% of Canada’s total population. How will the legal community meet the needs of Canada’s aging population?

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Estate losses – turning bad into good.

Capital losses sustained by an estate when assets go down in value after death are of little use. This can be frustrating particularly when the deceased has paid tax on capital gains made on the deemed disposition of the same assets on the terminal return. Read on to find out how to turn a bad loss into good tax recovery when action is taken within the first year anniversary of death.

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Probate Tax Planning – Joint Tenancy May Not Always Be the Best Option

In Ontario, property that a deceased owns as a joint tenant with another person does not form part of his estate for probate tax calculation purposes. As a result, significant attention is now being paid to the use of joint ownership as an estate planning technique to reduce or avoid probate taxes for both real and personal property. However, when property is transferred into joint ownership there are many issues that should be considered other than the potential probate tax savings.

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