Estate freezes can raise important questions—like whether the freezor’s spouse should seek independent legal advice (“ILA”). This blog unpacks why that recommendation matters. Estate Freeze Consider the following estate freeze, which intentionally is explained in a “bare bones” manner. A spouse (“Freezor”) is exchanging their common shares in a Canadian…
Category: Interest
Total 42 Posts
Gwenyth Stadig, Natasha Barrett, Upama Poudyal, Abdullah Khalid, Amber LeBlanc all of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Canadian donors can donate a variety of types of property to “qualified donees” which gift can be eligible for donation tax credits. Subsection 149.1(1) of the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) defines the term “qualified…
Death will affect every one of us, ultimately. Incapacity may impact us. The inevitability of death and the possibility of incapacity makes planning essential. Failure to plan is planning to fail. This inevitability is behind recent Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) By-law amendments that require lawyers in private practice to…
As a follow-up to my last article on key filing deadlines for estates, this article discusses tax penalties and interest. For executors, missing a tax deadline can come with serious tax implications, notably the application of a penalty and interest. Late Filing Penalty Under the Income Tax Act, there are…
“Your credit card starting with 4567 has been locked due to suspicious activity. To restore access to your account, please verify your information using the link below.” Older people are 33% more likely to lose money in a scam than any other age group, according to Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario,…
Today, over half of Canadians own a pet. However, a recent survey shows only 7% of pet owners have made formal arrangements for them. If there is no provision in your estate plans, your beloved pet might not be taken care of in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed.
In theory, obtaining a judgement should mark the end of litigation. In practice, it can be the beginning of the just as tedious process of collecting on the judgement by way of enforcement proceedings. The plaintiff in the case of Akhavan v Taheri found this out the hard way. On…
Todays blog has been co-written with Murray Braithwaite, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto There has been case law in the past two years where the court has used its discretion to vary the rate of interest on legacies that have not been paid within the “executor’s year” from 5%…
Reposted: Most of us avoid talking about death, but in reality many of us think about it regularly. None of us know what the future brings but death is a certainty. We just don’t know when and how. The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) was recently celebrated, closely followed by…
A person’s house is often their most valuable assets – both monetarily and emotionally. As a result, testators tend to put a lot of thought into who, and how, they wish to leave their house. However, as is always the case, best laid plans often go awry. One example of this, explored in the 2022 Court of Appeal of Ontario decision Barsoski Estate v Wesley, is when it is unclear whether the will gifts someone with a life interest in the house or a licence to use the property.