All About Estates

Month: June 2016

Total 26 Posts

Feelings not enough in cottage fight

You have an emotional connection to your late grandfather’s cottage. Your mother and your grandfather’s estate trustees hate each other. You don’t think that they will treat you fairly if you want to buy the cottage. Is this sufficient reason to remove the estate trustees? The Ontario Superior Court of…

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What Can One Do About a Senior’s Decision to Live Alone at Home ‘Unsafely’?

A frequent dilemma is the senior who is determined to remain living alone at home despite concerns that it may no longer be safe. What can one do about it? The first step is to enquire if there are power of attorney (POA) for property and personal care documents? If…

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SHARES ISSUED FOR NOMIMAL CONSIDERATION: BE WARY OF VALUATION

Recently, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) was asked to comment on the tax consequences that may result from implementing an estate planning or income splitting arrangement which involves the issuance of shares that entitled the holder to discretionary dividends, for nominal consideration. The CRA was presented with a hypothetical small…

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Estate Trustee During Litigation – A Refresher from the STEP 2016 National Conference

The reality is, with the impending transfer of one of the largest amounts of wealth in our history from one generation to the next, we are likely to see a continued up-tick in estate litigation. Along with that there will be the increased need for a neutral party to preserve the assets of the estate during the course of such litigation.

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Can an executor act as a witness to a Will?

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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The Force is Ageing

Are you one of 35% of employed Canadians providing care to a family member or friend? Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Need help finding ‘the balance’? There are some resources that can assist.

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When Will the Court Order an Estate Trustee to Pass his/her Accounts?

A court application to pass accounts can be a costly and time consuming procedure. As such, courts may be reluctant to order one without a compelling reason.

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Principal residence exemption – renting to a child

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked if a taxpayer’s property designated as his “principal residence” but rented and lived in by his son continued to qualify as his “principal residence” for the purpose of claiming a principal residence exemption to shelter a gain from personal tax.

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Serving the Charitable Purpose

I want to float a trial balloon about charitable trusts. A clause stipulating that a trust should be limited to using income for charitable purposes, meaning that capital is untouchable, should be viewed as an administrative clause and not part of the charitable objects. The charitable purposes of the trust…

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QDT’S AND THE PREFERRED BENEFICIARY ELECTION

As fellow bloggers have noted, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners held its annual national conference in Toronto on June 9th and 10th. Each year, one of the most anticipated sessions is the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) Roundtable. Question No. 4 at this year’s Roundtable concerned the interplay between…

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