Cross-border insurance planning is tricky but understanding the basics can go a long way in assisting clients. This short article will review some of the key questions to consider in order to avoid potential pitfalls in life insurance planning. Who is the Owner, the Insured and the Beneficiary In the…
Canadian estate and tax advisors may want to consider the case Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 23-146[1] (U.S. 3/27/24). The U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS“) issued its decision on June 6th and it serves as a good reminder of the implications of corporately-owned life insurance in the context of cross-border…
Canadians often misunderstand (or are unaware) that the U.S. estate tax may apply to their estate. Indeed, if a Canadian dies owning U.S. situs assets with a gross value exceeding USD $60,000, their estate will have to file a U.S. estate tax return and, depending on the worldwide fair market…
The U.S. gift tax is often overlooked by Canadians and their advisors. Most U.S. citizens living in Canada are aware of the U.S. estate tax and gift tax application. However, when it comes to Canadian residents who are not U.S. persons, only a minority are aware of the potential application…
Today’s blog is written by Jessica J. Butler, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP. As today’s world continues to grow increasingly interconnected, more estate professionals find themselves dealing with a web of cross-border assets and jurisdictional issues. This post considers certain issues that you might face when administering a Canadian estate…
As part of the ‘Donald’s’ post-election “promises” we heard rumours that US gift and estate taxes were going to be repealed. While we did not see a repeal, we did see a significant change to the rules related to US gift and estate tax. The particular change came forward in…
Frequently, I am reminded how careful one has to be with making sure that tax-free inheritances generally maintain their status throughout all steps to liquidate and realize the proceeds. Here is a case in point. In Owen v The Queen (2018 TCC 90), the taxpayer’s father resided in the United…
Business owners-managers put money in and take money out on a regular basis during the year, and at the same time often use the business bank account for what may appear to be personal expenditures. This often leads to shareholder advance balances at year end and some major bookkeeping challenges…
This year’s STEP conference featured over 65 speakers including for the very first time, the IRS spoke on Canadian soil about offshore compliance options including OVDP and streamlined compliance procedures.
Your responsibilities as a trustee or executor of an estate may include completing the tax filings of the deceased and requesting tax clearance prior to the distribution of the estate in accordance with the will terms. Let’s say you find out that the deceased’s tax filings were not all up to date or incomplete and you have read about the possibility of tax penalties.
