Saskatchewan recently amended its intestacy rules through the enactment of The Intestate Succession Act, 2019 (the “Act”), replacing the former 1996 statute. “Intestacy rules” are the rules that govern the division of a deceased person’s estate if the person dies without a will, or a portion of an estate if…
In 2016, the federal government introduced changes to the definition of “principal residence” in the Income Tax Act (Canada). The changes significantly restricted the types of personal trusts that are eligible to claim the principal residence exemption (“PRE”). As a result of the changes, only three categories of personal trusts…
In Canada we do not have an estate tax. Rather, when an individual dies the individual is deemed to have disposed of his or her capital property immediately before death at fair market value. The deemed disposition triggers the realization of any accrued but unrealized capital gains. As a result,…
I was recently asked about the tax implications of creating a life interest in real property. When I use the term “life interest” in this context I am not referring to a typical scenario in which a property is transferred to trustees and held in a trust, the terms of…
In the 2019 federal budget, the government announced changes to the rules in the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) that govern registered disability savings plans, or RDSP’s (also referred to in this blog as a “plan”). On July 30, 2019, the Minister of Finance released the draft legislation and explanatory notes…
Inter vivos trusts are often used in the estate planning process to manage and preserve family wealth across generations. Within that broad framework, such trusts are used for a variety of reasons. Parents or grandparents may want to establish a vehicle for funding the education costs of future generations. A…
In a prior blog, I began a discussion of the use of marriage contracts as part of an integrated estate plan to preserve and protect family wealth. In particular, that blog began a discussion of the legal regime that governs a “matrimonial home” under the Ontario Family Law Act (“FLA”),…
In 2018, the Ontario government introduced amendments to the Pension Benefits Act to permit pension plan administrators to accept electronic beneficiary designations. Specifically, the Pension Benefits Act was amended to include the following provision (among others): Electronic designation of beneficiaries 30.1.1 (1) Despite anything to the contrary in the Succession…
Ontario’s “new” parentage rules, contained primarily in the Children’s Law Reform Act (“CLRA”) and implemented through the All Families Are Equal Act, have been in force for more than two years, having become effective on January 1, 2017. There have now been several reported decisions that interpret and apply the…
My fellow blogger Maureen Berry and colleague Demetre Vasilounis, Student-at-Law, recently blogged about a form of digital assets that has received limited treatment in Canadian estate law commentary, namely digital assets that continue to generate revenue after the death of the owner, such as the YouTube and Twitch “Partner” programs….