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…
Category: Insurance
Total 33 Posts
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…
They see you when you’re sleeping, they know when you’re awake. They’re ready to decide if you’ve been unjustly enriched, so be good for goodness sake. The Supreme Court of Canada is coming to town. The Supreme Court of Canada in their festive/ceremonial robes [Not pictured – Santa Claus] …
Ownership of assets into ‘joint tenancy with right of survivorship” is a mechanism of ownership transfer commonly used for estate planning to address such issues as probate fee and tax avoidance. Recently, this blog site very capably addressed the issues surrounding “joint tenancy” of life insurance in particular (“Life Insurance…
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…
It is not uncommon to see corporate owned life insurance transferred to a shareholder particularly when the company is being sold. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked to comment on a set of facts and their response was no surprise given the relatively new rules in this area of…