All About Estates

Steven Frye

Total 170 Posts Website
Baker Tilly WM LLP is a leading, independent audit, tax, and business advisory firm based in Vancouver and Toronto, serving clients across Canada. Drawing on well-trained teams across a variety of disciplines, we ensure the alignment of our professional’s skills and experience with client requirements, resulting in exceptional service and business outcomes.

Trustee’s Personal Liability – It Could Go on for Years!

Take the case of Estate of Ronald Alfred Craymer v Hayward et al, 2019 ONSC 4600, The Craymers were married in the 1980’s. It was a second marriage for Mrs. Craymer and a fourth marriage for Mr. Craymer. At the time of their marriage, Mrs. Craymer had three adult children…

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Gift of Ecologically Sensitive Lands and the Carryover period for charitable donation deduction

In Yellow Point Lodge Ltd. v, The Queen DTC 1130, the Company owned certain lands on Vancouver Island, mostly undeveloped and in its natural state. In June 2008, the Company granted a covenant and other specified legal interests with respect to a parcel of ecologically-sensitive land, to two organizations, with…

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Inclusion of Life Insurance loan in Income

In Neszt v. The Queen 2019 DTC 1105, the taxpayer held two life insurance policies with a life insurance company. He subsequently took personal loans against his life insurance policies. The amount of each such loan was greater than the adjusted cost base of each policy, (being the sum of…

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DEEMED TRUST: TAX DEBTS AND PROCEEDS OF INSURANCE

In Canada (A.G.) v Nortip Development 2019 NLCA 34, a company fell behind in remitting payroll withholdings and related amounts for several periods over a two-year period to the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”). Around the same time, a property with a mortgage owned by the same company, was destroyed by…

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AGREEMENT RECTIFICATION APPLIED FOR AND ALLOWED!

Due in particular to the outcome of some recent court cases, many have feared that formal applications to rectify plans would receive a favorable hearing only in the event of obvious clerical errors in the documentation. However a recent court case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia demonstrated that…

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Trusts and Trust Resettlements – Variations and Circumstances

Variation(s) of a trust agreement, after it is settled, does carry the risk of causing a resettlement of a trust or a disposition of a beneficiary’s interest in the trust, with serious tax consequences. But not all variations lead to resettlement, fortunately. Recently in an advance ruling, the Canada revenue…

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Embryo Freezing Costs: Medical Expense Tax Credit Extended to Same Sex Couples.

The Income Tax Act (“ITA”) generally permits as an eligible medical expense of an individual, an amount paid to a medical practitioner, dentist, or nurse or a public or licensed private hospital for medical or dental services provided to a patient. Medical services are diagnostic, therapeutic or rehabilitative services that…

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SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENTS, EXIT PROVISIONS AND THE IMPACT OF CONTROL

Control is an important concept for applying certain income tax rules and valuation issues (amongst others) when dealing with corporations, with serious implications to current and future (and estate) planning scenarios. De jure control refers to legal control of a corporation, which requires a look at shareholdings. Control in fact,…

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The Life of Pipeline Transactions: The Beat Goes On

In the past few years, many associated with this blog have written about the benefit of post-mortem pipeline transactions to avoid double tax on disposition of certain assets. Again, and briefly, a pipeline transaction is a form of transaction whereby the assets of a corporation are distributed to shareholders utilizing…

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INCOME RECEIVED AFTER DEATH

Recently, the Canada Revenue Agency released a technical interpretation to clarify the commentary in the T4001 Employer’s Guide – Payroll deductions and Remittances, and the T4011 guide, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons, in respect of income payable at death but not actually paid until the subsequent year. The CRA confirmed…

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