October 2017

Joint accounts – the good and the bad

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Earlier this year, my father-in- law left us suddenly.  While my in-laws were careful about planning for this day there was still some Estate Administration Tax (EAT) to be paid on the transfer of assets between spouses.  Armed with that experience, my mother-in-law is determined pay the least amount of EAT and asked about the use of joint accounts. Jointly held property with a spouse or with one or more….

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Estate Planning, Executors, Family Conflict, Probate Tax, Tax Issues

The Role Played by the Family Caregiver

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The family caregiver plays a key role in supporting the very fabric of Canadian society. The most recent Census data tells us that 28% of all Canadians provide unpaid care to a family member or friend. If you are reading this article, chances are you are or know someone close to you who is a family carer. Today there are more seniors over age 65 than children under age 14…..

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Elder Care

Robert and Signe McMichael’s Complicated Legacy

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[caption id="attachment_5842" align="aligncenter" width="477"] Robert and Signe McMichael signing Gift Agreement with Ontario Premier John Robarts .18 November 1965. Credit CBC[/caption] Robert and Signe McMichael, the namesake of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, were savvy art collectors who made some painful philanthropic and estate planning mistakes.  Visionary Collectors     Starting in 1955, when they were in their early 30s, they started buying landscape paintings by the Group of Seven….

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Estate Administration, Estate Donations, Estate Planning, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Uncategorized

Lost Wills – More Complicated than Losing Your Keys

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Nobody is perfect – sometimes you lose your keys. Other times you lose your will. The problem is, by the time your estate trustee realizes the will is gone, you won’t be around to help look for it. The inability to find a testator’s will does not automatically result in the deceased’s estate being distributed on intestacy. In certain circumstances, a lost or destroyed will may be admitted for probate….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Wills

Contributor/settlor Taxable Income and T3 Reporting Requirements

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As most trust and tax practitioners know, The Income Tax Act (“ITA”) will attribute trust income, losses, capital gains and capital losses to the contributor / settlor if certain conditions are met. The 2016 T3 Guide states the following: Certain related amounts, including taxable capital gains and allowable capital losses from that property or the substituted property, are considered to belong to the contributor during the contributor’s life or existence….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Estate Administration, Tax Issues, Trusts, Uncategorized

Can We Prevent Elder Abuse?

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I had the pleasure of attending last week’s Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ conference, titled “Elder Abuse and Manners of Protecting the Elderly”. It focused on financial abuse which is the most common form of elder abuse. It provided an excellent overview with a panel discussion presented and moderated by lawyers (Craig Vander Zee, Kim Whaley and Albert Oosterhoff), the Toronto Police Vulnerable Persons Coordinator (PC Jason Peddle) and….

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Elder Law, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes
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