Joint tenancy has a lot in common with the TV show Survivor: the goal is to outlast your fellow castaways to win the prize – full ownership of the property. To escape this game show mentality, owners may sever the joint tenancy.
Category: Real Estate
Total 68 Posts
In my previous blog, Principal residence – deceased vs. estate, I discussed the opportunity for an estate to claim a capital loss on a property that was previously the principal residence of the deceased and carry it back to the deceased’s final tax return under subsection 164(6) of the Income…
The over-heating of the housing market that started in 2021 is starting to slowly cool off as a result of rising interest rates. This cooling of the over-heated housing market has given rise to a potential scenario that was originally addressed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in a technical…
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.
With real estate prices soaring, it’s no surprise that property is often at the heart of estate litigation. Certificates of pending litigation (CPLs) are a common tool used to ensure that a disputed property is not sold before the litigation is resolved. If the parties agree to remove a CPL…
Can an estate claim a loss for tax purposes if the estate sells the property for less than what it was valued for at time of death? Hard to imagine such circumstances in this current real estate environment but in the unlikely event it does occur, what are the rules?…
As a Toronto native, I couldn’t help but listen to rapper Drake’s highly-anticipated new album Certified Lover Boy, which he released just a few weeks ago. In fact, it has been enjoying record-breaking streaming numbers from music fans around the world, amassing a staggering 153 million global Spotify streams in…
This Blog was written by Suzanna Walter, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management There have been many articles written about the dramatic increase in real estate values in Canada. This real estate boom has implications for executors’ administering estates. Maureen Berry in her article Non-Resident Beneficiaries and Canadian…
Acting as an estate trustee can be a difficult job. It is often made more difficult when you have to work with a sibling. While the types of disputes co-estate trustees can have with one another are seemingly infinite, one common fight is over valuing an estate asset. Valuing estate…
Both alter ego and joint partner trusts (the trust) allow a settlor to transfer capital assets into the trust on a tax-deferred basis if the following conditions are met: The trust is created after 1999. The settlor is at least 65 at the time of creation. In the case of…