When making charitable gifts by Will, many donors wish to ensure that their gift has a long-term meaningful impact that will enable charitable activities to be carried out long after their deaths.
In Ontario, property that a deceased owns as a joint tenant with another person does not form part of his estate for probate tax calculation purposes. As a result, significant attention is now being paid to the use of joint ownership as an estate planning technique to reduce or avoid probate taxes for both real and personal property. However, when property is transferred into joint ownership there are many issues that should be considered other than the potential probate tax savings.
In their later years, donors often make commitments to charities with respect to the charitable giving that they intend to carry out during their lifetimes. Often these commitments are expressed by means of the donor and the charity entering into a written charitable pledge agreement.
Small businesses make up a large percentage of the Ontario business community and a good number of these small businesses are organized as sole proprietorships.
When someone passes away, one of the first duties of the executors is to secure and protect all assets forming part of the estate.
