The title of this blog may provoke laughter, or perhaps, just head-shaking disbelief. But estate donations to various levels of government do happen. The trick is to ensure that the donor’s intentions are carried out. The Crown – i.e. federal and provincial governments – and Canadian municipalities are qualified donees…
Category: Estate Donations
Total 75 Posts
To paraphrase the common law, a gift must be “freely given without consideration”. “Consideration” means without expectation of benefit, which eliminates contractual or other binding rights. This concept was addressed by my colleague Darren Lund in a recent All About Estates blog on charitable donations from alter ego and spousal…
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…
I recently went looking for information to assist wine and spirit collectors with their estate planning. To my surprise there is little material online. It’s easy to uncovered truth by drinking wine – “in vivo veritas” – but much harder to find a comprehensive Canadian resource about estate planning for…
In 11 weeks between March 25 and June 3, 2019 three $100 million dollar charitable donations were announced in Ontario. On February 13th, McGill University in Montreal announced a $200 million donation. These are enormous sums, and this unprecedented donation cluster is just the beginning of bigger things to…
The FitzGerald Building at the University of Toronto housed the School of Hygiene (Public Health). It was funded by The Rockefeller Foundation with a $650,000 grant in 1927. What’s the greatest impact donation in Canadian history? I’d argue it is a forgotten gift of $75,000 made by Colonel Albert E….
The more people/families I meet, the more I am amazed that there can be so much conflict that continues….. Many estate practices are busy because of familial conflict. We all know families that are not on speaking terms. In most cases, money has something to do with it. I wanted…
Annulment is one of those antiquated words the whispers “convenience” and “pragmatism”. Failed or incomplete marriage? Divorce not an option? A Church-granted annulment will set both partners free. Annulment is also a term in the Income Tax Act that applies to registered charities and registered amateur athletic associations. It’s rarely used, and…
Last week I visited Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto for a grant status update meeting with a family foundation. I used to work at the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, but left 20 years ago. Returning after two decades provided me perspective on two key charitable estate planning considerations: time…
Generous but Complex and Opaque Canada has the most generous tax incentives for charitable giving in the world, but few Canadians understand what they save and how the system works. Why the paradox? Here’s a longer-than-usual blog providing an overview for your future reference. For starters, it is helpful to…