All About Estates

Category: Succession Planning

Total 110 Posts

Digital Assets: Spotlighting Client User Considerations (Part I)

Today’s blog post was written in collaboration with Adele Ambrose – Student-at-Law at Fasken. It has become clear that the “wait and see” approach to digital assets and digital currency has now shifted to a need for prudent guidance and action by advisors and institutions. According to CoinMarketCap, the total…

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The Value of Canadian Tire “Money” in Estates

Canadian Tire “money” has been distributed by Canadian Tire stores for almost 65 years. While CT Money is often dismissed, it may be a mistake to ignore the bills as a potential asset of the estate.

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Capacity to Consent to MAiD: A Suggestion For Amendment

I have found it uncommon for a family member or beneficiary to exert undue influence to pressure a patient to pursue MAiD. What worries me is the vulnerability of patients to undue influence from physicians who may embrace therapeutic nihilism and bias patients unduly towards MAiD. I suggest that, for capacity to consent to MAiD, the test of “ability to appreciate” should be expanded to require an appreciation of the views and wishes of supportive family members and friends.

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Designating a successor for the TFSA

Designating the surviving spouse or common-law partner as the successor holder of the Tax Free Savings Account “TFSA” simplifies the administration of transferring the account upon the death of the decedent.  A successor holder may only be a spouse or common-law partner. All provinces and territories in Canada, except Quebec,…

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Assessing Drake’s Estate Planning Needs

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…

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INSURANCE TRACKING SHARES

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…

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CRA issues favourable ruling on post-mortem pipelines

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been asked on numerous occasions to weigh in on whether specific post-mortem planning implemented by taxpayers to avoid double taxation would result in a deemed dividend. In a recent ruling, the CRA concluded that it would not apply either specific tax rules or the…

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Pipeline planning and the dangers of subsection 84(2)

In 1789, Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States Constitution, provided the world with this great quote, “nothing is certain except death and taxes”. In 2021, John Oakey, the founding father of three Oakey children, is providing the world (or at least anyone reading this blog)…

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Reaffirming the Status Quo of Beneficial Designations: the saga of Calmusky v. Calmusky continued

The Rippling Effects of Calmusky v. Calmusky In March of 2020, Lococo J.’s decision in Calmusky v. Calmusky made waves in Ontario’s legal community. (For this reason, it was included in our top 20 estate law cases of 2020. An excellent summary and analysis of that decision by my colleague…

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Today’s Executor is a Digital Executor

Today’s Executor is a Digital Executor The estates and trusts world has taken notice of the importance of digital assets—there is no question about that. Now that we know that an individual’s digital assets are something that advisors and clients alike need to consider for every estate planning matter, the…

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