August 2017

Locking-in Your Family’s Inheritance – a Matter of “Trust”?

Today’s guest blogger is Wendy Templeton. Wendy is a member of the Wills, Estates and Wealth Management Group at LLF Lawyers in Peterborough, Ontario.  She is a well-known author and lecturer with a background in taxation of trusts and estates, business succession, and wills, trusts and estates.  She has a strong commitment to education, having made a significant contribution to the Diploma program for the Society of Trust and Estate….

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Estate Planning, Wills

GIFTS – Some Additional Thougths

Recently, I wrote about the gifting of cash or assets during one’s lifetime as an alternative method of distributing your wealth (beyond what you need to live on comfortably) and possibly avoid taxes (probate, income etc.) at time of death. I suggested that your heirs could use the funds in a manner that will likely cost less tax: For example pay down some personal debt, apply it as a deposit….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Charitable Giving, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Loans, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Probate Tax, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

Young Carers and Back to School

With Labour Day fast approaching I thought it would be fitting to highlight the role that young caregivers have in providing care to another person. Since the creation of ‘Lucky, The Young Carer Rap’ video  which was a partnership with the Vanier Institute of the Family based on research conducted by Dr. Grant Charles, the numbers of young carers has grown.  At that time 12% of young people surveyed in Vancouver….

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Caregiving, Elder Care

The Ontario Estate Information Return – An Estate Trustee’s Nightmare

As of January 1, 2015, a Regulation under the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, O Reg 310/14 requires estate trustees to give an Estate Information Return to the Ministry of Finance within 90 calendars days of a certificate of appointment of estate trustee (“Estate Certificate”) being issued. The Estate Information Return requires disclosure of a comprehensive list of information about the deceased person, including “a complete list of the assets….

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Estate Administration, Executors

The Art Collector and the Tax Deal

[caption id="attachment_12949" align="aligncenter" width="300"] [/caption] A 1953 caricature of Douglas M. Duncan by Alan Reeve. Note the envelopes in his pocket at the lower right.   Douglas Duncan was a pioneering Canadian art dealer and ambitiously hapless businessman.   Known as the dealer and artistic executor of artist David B. Milne, he was legendary for his unopened mail, uncashed cheques and, yes, of course, failure to write a will.  Prior to….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving

Principal residence exemption and fire loss

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked to comment on the availability of the principal residence exemption (PRE) when a previously occupied property is destroyed by fire and a decision is made to sell the property in a later year. The taxpayer purchased a house in 2010 which was ordinarily inhabited as a principal residence.  In 2016, the house was completely destroyed by a fire and the taxpayer decided to move….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Cottage, Executors, Property, Real Estate, Tax Issues, Uncategorized
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