Pictured: My beloved dog, Yuki, in her Christmas tree outfit. When thinking about what to write for this week’s blog post, I realized that I have the last Fasken slot before Christmas. This got me thinking: what can I write that’s relevant to the holidays? It then dawned on me…
Today’s blog post has been written by Karen La Caprara, Counsel, at Fasken LLP. When two abutting parcels of land or properties are owned by the same owner or owners, title to the properties automatically merges, unless an exception to this general principle applies.[i] Once title to the abutting…
It is important to consider estate planning objectives when entering into real estate transactions. For example, a client may intend to retain control of real property in that they intend to be able to dispose of it on death. However, if the relevant estate planning objectives are not identified and…
This blog has been written by Mohena Singh, Associate at Fasken LLP As an estate planner, one of the most common questions I am asked is, “How do I transfer my house or cottage to my family without paying estate administration tax?” A common way we have seen individuals attempt…
Joint tenancy has a lot in common with the TV show Survivor: the goal is to outlast your fellow castaways to win the prize – full ownership of the property. To escape this game show mentality, owners may sever the joint tenancy.
This Blog was written by: Gali Gelbart, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotia Wealth Management One of the most common questions I get asked by clients is if they should add one or more of their children on title to their home or other real estate holdings. A lot of people…
I think it is fair to say that joint ownership of property[2] is one of the most commonly used strategies for property ownership in the context of developing an estate plan. Like any form of partnership, there are many issues to consider in jointly owning property. In the context of…
You can sever your interest, but not your relationship, with a joint owner of property.
Last week my colleague, Laura West, spoke about some of the non-tax pitfalls that can arise when transferring property into joint tenancy with a family member. This week I’m here to follow-up with a discussion of the tax implications that should be considered before changing ownership of property to joint tenancy.
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.