All About Estates

Category: Investments

Total 116 Posts

When a Financial Plan meets an Estate Plan

Our lives were upended a few years ago by the pandemic, and things since then have been anything but typical.  From elevated inflation to skyrocketing interest rates, our expectations for the future and our perceptions of what is normal have been challenged.  The word “unprecedented” may be overused, but it…

Continue Reading

Further Assessing Drake’s Estate Planning Needs

Nearly two years ago, I wrote a blog post titled “Assessing Drake’s Estate Planning Needs”. The post looked at rap sensation Drake’s assets vis-à-vis his intent for his son Adonis to be the sole beneficiary of his estate, and the various considerations that he ought to have in planning for…

Continue Reading

HOW TO TRANSFER SHAREHOLDINGS HELD IN PAPER FORM OR THE DIRECT REGISTRATION SYSTEM WHEN ADMINISTERING AN ESTATE

Going through the records of a deceased person is an important task for the executor and can be a huge undertaking, particularly when the individual held on to everything. Sometimes, a search of the deceased’s records reveals surprising new assets. What should an executor do when they discover evidence that…

Continue Reading

Valuation of Interests in Discretionary trusts and Family Law

These days, it is quite common to find intergenerational wealth transfer to consist of property held in a discretionary family trust whose beneficiaries may or may not have been in marital relationships at the time of the time the trusts were created. A siginifcant number of legal and financials issues…

Continue Reading

The Value of Canadian Tire “Money” in Estates

Canadian Tire “money” has been distributed by Canadian Tire stores for almost 65 years. While CT Money is often dismissed, it may be a mistake to ignore the bills as a potential asset of the estate.

Continue Reading

Valuation for Estate Planning – Some Hard Lessons

In a recent case in Tax Court, Lauria v HMQ 2021 TCC 66, the taxpayers, both officers and directors of a company held shares in the company as a result of employee share option agreements granted to them.  In early 2006, the company founders decided to pursue an initial public…

Continue Reading

OAS Planning

The Old Age Security (“OAS”) pension is a monthly payment you can get if you are 65 years of age or older. In many cases, Service Canada will automatically enroll you in the year prior to your 65th birthday. To the occasional surprise of some folks, the receipt of OAS…

Continue Reading

SALE OF PERSONAL RESIDENCE AFTER DEATH

Can an estate claim a loss for tax purposes if the estate sells the property for less than what it was valued for at time of death? Hard to imagine such circumstances in this current real estate environment but in the unlikely event it does occur, what are the rules?…

Continue Reading

Digital Assets and RRSP’s, TFSA’s, RESP’s, etc

Do digital assets  e.g. cryptocurrencies (such as bitcoin, ethereum) non-fungible tokens,  qualify as investments in deferred tax vehicles such as Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP’s), Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA’s), Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP’s) and Registered Disability Savings Plan (“RDSP’s). The simple answer is no and maybe. This issue…

Continue Reading

INSURANCE TRACKING SHARES

If a taxpayer owns shares of a corporation and passes away, he or she is deemed to have disposed of their shareholding at fair market value (“FMV”) unless a tax-free rollover is applied (e.g., rollover to a surviving spouse). The disposition of shares may cause a tax liability. In the…

Continue Reading