All About Estates

Tag: estate donations

Total 16 Posts

Charity Governance and Estate Donations

The headline is not intended to scare you off.  Admittedly, governance is a notoriously dull topic, made worse by the enthusiasm of governance wonks.  Charity governance is rarely a matter considered, at least overtly, by an estate donor when planning a gift by will. But strong governance is essential to good charities….

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AMT and Donations

Changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) rates and rules are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024.  For the first time AMT will apply to charitable donations from high-income individuals, which is worrying for charities and donors. Simply, targeting donations is poor tax policy that will produce unintended…

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Charitable purposes and estate donations

Estate planning is an exercise in time travel.  It is impossible to predict the future, especially when the time gap between planning and death is often decades.  Fast forward 25 years, a charity may not exist when the estate is distributed. Charity law identified this problem and a solution to it over…

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Estate Donations: Six Years Later

The 2016 introduction of the Graduated Rate Estate (GRE) regime was accompanied by the “estate donations” rules. These Income Tax Act provisions altered the administrative and tax treatment of gifts by will, as well as direct designation gifts of life insurance, RRSP/RRIFs, and TFSAs.   How are charities and executors managing…

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The Decline of Churches

Organized religion has been the bedrock of the Canadian charitable sector.  When charities were first required to register federally in 1967, over 60% of organizations were religious and most were churches.  As of January 2022, Christian charities represent just 29.7% of Canada’s 86,080 registered charities.  The implications for society, giving,…

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Loosening Standards for Charitable Property

A crisis may change long-held views.  In reaction to the devastating economic effect of COVID-19 a couple of regulators have loosened their rules related to two different types of charitable property.  Will these changes be temporary or will they lead to long-term change?  And what effect does it have on…

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Outdated Donation Clause

Legal precedents are invaluable – except, that is, when they are wrong or out of date.  Recently a Scotiatrust colleague contacted me about a clause in a client’s will that was intended to create an endowment fund at a registered charity.  The clause imposed a 10-year capital hold on the…

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