All About Estates

Tag: In the News

Total 36 Posts

Will The Vacant Home Tax Impact Use of the Principal Residence Exemption; Estate Planning Considerations

  Overview The Ontario government has enabled municipalities to enact a tax on vacant residential units in their regions (Granted under Part IX.1 of the Municipal Act).[1] Each municipality has to pass a By-Law stating the tax rate and conditions of vacancy that, if met, make a property subject to…

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ELDER ABUSE: A GROWING PROBLEM IN AN AGING POPULATION

Today’s blog is co-written by Jennifer Campbell and Sandra Arsenault, Senior Law Clerks in the Private Client Services Group at Fasken. At the beginning of November, we were fortunate enough to attend the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO) annual conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  This conference brings together law clerks…

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Thank You for Being a Friend – The Legacy of Betty White

Today’s blog has been written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Betty Marion White was born on January 17, 1922 and passed away at her home on December 31, 2021 – just 17 days shy of her 100th birthday. “I feel like crawling under the covers and eating…

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CPP: TO DEFER OR NOT DEFER

For several years now, clients and contacts (with more frequency of late, and that’s no accident) have been asking me: “Hey Steve, I am turning 65 shortly, do I apply for CPP now or do I wait – what makes more sense financially” Based on analysis provided by experts in…

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LIFE INSURANCE IN THE COVID-19 ERA

As someone who has been around the life insurance industry in a professional and personal capacity for several decades, I am always curious about what motivates people to buy or not buy life insurance. I understand that few people spend time thinking about the consequences of low-probability events and are…

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Low- Interest Environment: Time To Take Advantage Again.

In past blogs, we discussed income splitting arrangements available to individuals who wish to loan funds to his/her lower income spouse or adult child, or in the case of minor children, a discretionary family trust. Such loans would be used to invest in income producing properties such as marketable securities,…

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Home Buyer’s Plan and Disabled Family Member

In a recent blog, I wrote about the availability of Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) to an individual after the death of her spouse who purchased the matrimonial home. In a recent Technical Interpretation (2019-0819671E5, D. Odubella), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked by a taxpayer to review the availability…

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Disability Tax Credit Claim: Denied on Appeal

As many of you know the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is a credit to income tax otherwise payable, available for those with a severe or prolonged impairment. It is meant to provide some relief from the additional costs and expenses incurred associated with the impairment. I have written in the…

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Time to Refreeze: Redux

The freezing of current share value so that your chosen successors can easily participate in the future growth of your enterprise is a common estate planning technique. What if the value of the frozen shares now exceeds the value of the enterprise as a whole? I wrote about this sometime…

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A note on Crypto Currency

Wikipedia defines cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) as a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central…

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