Corporately-owned life insurance is viewed as a key strategic option in tax and estate planning, notably for business owners. There are several strategic reasons to consider corporately-owned insurance as part of the estate plan, such as equalization among the beneficiaries of their estate or to fund the taxes triggered on…
Category: Insurance
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…
Today’s blog post was written by Pritika Deepak, an Associate at Fasken LLP. This is Part II of a three-part blog series which provides a high-level overview of some of the tax implications to consider, with respect to certain assets held at death. Part I, which addresses RRSPs can be…
Recently I received an inquiry from a life insurance advisor about a client who wished to establish a policy and donate it to two charities. My colleague wanted to know if this was possible. In my experience it is possible, but not the best way to do it. Donation Structures…
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…
I do a lot of work in the insurance industry. Recently, I came across a court case which I thik is a cautionary tale for estate planners and executors. In Gregson v. CAA Insurance., 2021 ONSC 3041, Ms. Gregson was a property owner and name insured on March 17,2017 when…
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…
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…
In Neszt v. The Queen 2019 DTC 1105, the taxpayer held two life insurance policies with a life insurance company. He subsequently took personal loans against his life insurance policies. The amount of each such loan was greater than the adjusted cost base of each policy, (being the sum of…
Life insurance policy – rollover at cost? In a recent technical interpretation, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) confirmed that where a spousal trust is required to pay the life insurance premiums on a policy it owns and is the beneficiary of the policy, a rollover at cost pursuant to the…