All About Estates

Month: March 2016

Total 21 Posts

Challenging Will Challenges – Can they be estopped?

Will challenges are the cornerstone of estate litigation; indeed, they define the practice area. The reasons for launching a will challenge are relatively fixed: lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence being the most common. Another way of challenging a will is to have it “proved in solemn form.” By…

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Calendar year for testamentary trusts

Change in tax treatment of testamentary trusts arising may result in a deemed tax year end of December 31, 2015. For testamentary trusts previously having a non-calendar year end, the receipt of dividends by the trust on December 31, where the trust habitually allocates this income to its beneficiaries at the trust tax year end, could result in the allocation of dividend income from two trust tax years for the 2015 tax year of the beneficiaries.

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Recognize, Reject and Report!

March is fraud prevention month.  Fraud is an equal opportunity crime. Fraud targets individuals of all ages, ethnicities and walks of life.  Businesses large and small can also fall victim.  That being said, seniors are particularly vulnerable.  Fraud is the leading type of crime experienced by older Canadians. According to…

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MEANING OF SPOUSE

For those of our readers who are a “spouse”, have you ever considered whether you remain a spouse after the death of your spouse. This was the issue the Tax Court of Canada had to consider in the case of Kuchta v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 289. In particular, the Court considered the meaning of the word “spouse” in the context of the provisions under ss.160(1) of the Income Tax Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.) (the “Act”).

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A Caregiver’s Grief

Personal Support Workers can be feel more like family to the older person than their own children. Especially felt in the later years of life, their bond can be very strong. I wonder how often they are remembered in the Will?

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Court of Appeal Upholds Testamentary Freedom

Today’s blog is written by guest blogger Adam Parachin, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has released its decision in Spence Estate (Re) 2016 ONCA 196. In reversing the lower court holding of Justice Gilmore, the Court of Appeal confirmed – wait for it – that testators are not obligated to benefit the persons they are not obligated to benefit. The most astounding feature of the judgment is that it was necessary in the first place.

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CAPITAL DIVIDENDS FROM A TRUST TO NON-RESIDENTS – TAX ISSUES

Subject to the relevant sections of the Income Tax Act, a Canadian private corporation has a special corporate tax account known as a capital dividend account (“CDA”) which gives shareholders designated capital dividends, tax free. The CDA of a corporation may include the non-taxable portion of the company’s capital gains,…

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Don’t let inheritance issues tear your family apart

I was recently drawn to the Life section of the Toronto Star –  more specifically the “advice column” – by a compellling headline; to wit: “Don’t let inheritance issues tear your family apart”.  So far, sound advice. However, the author went on to provide some inaccurate information on Powers of Attorney to…

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Compassionate Care Benefits- Update

Effective January 3rd, 2016, the Government of Canada announced an increase in the duration of the Employment Insurance (EI) compassionate care benefit which allows claimants to collect up to 26 weeks of benefits, up from the current six weeks, for the care of a family member with a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death.

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A New Cause of Action or Clarifying an Existing Action? Amendments to Pleadings and Limitation Periods

When will a court permit amendments to a statement of claim after the expiration of a limitation period? In a recent decision by Justice Lederman, Barcham v. Barcham, the plaintiff and moving party, Lazar Barcham (“Lazar”), sought leave to amend his statement of claim, and an adjournment of the trial…

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