Background – The Estate Freeze Transaction Fact Pattern In an estate freeze transaction involving one or more family corporations, certain common shares of such corporations are exchanged for fixed value preference shares that must be retractable and may be redeemable by the holder (“Preferred Shares”, as hereinafter further defined). The…
One of the duties of an estate trustee is to respond to litigation brought against the estate. The estate trustee is also the only person with the authority to start litigation on behalf of the estate. Because estates are not legal entities such as corporations, the party to the litigation…
The acquisition of control (AOC) rules in the Income Tax Act (ITA) are designed to prevent non-related persons or group of persons from trading in corporations that have unutilized losses for income tax purposes by restricting the corporation’s ability to deduct unutilized losses when control of the corporation has been…
As we head in to the Fall of 2020, we are quickly approaching the new trust reporting requirements. The new trust reporting rules come into effect with taxation years ending after Dec. 30, 2021. As a reminder to administrators, if a trust continues to be in place past Dec. 31,…
Each province in Canada establishes its own rules regarding the distribution of property where a person dies without a will. In Ontario, intestate succession is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”). Inheritance on intestacy is limited to married spouses and blood relations. If a…
The gratuitous transfer of property from a parent to an adult, capable child may result in a resulting trust.
In Dreger et al v the Queen (2020 TCC25), the beneficiaries of an estate bequest appealed assessments for unpaid taxes by the deceased. In this case, the deceased was an annuitant of a life income fund (“LIF”) and prior to his death, he designated to each of his daughters as…
A bare trust, also referred to as a naked trust, exists where a person, the trustee, is merely vested with the legal title to property and has no other duty to perform or responsibilities to carry out as trustee, in relation to the property vested in the trust. The sole…
This blog has been written by Robert Boyd, Scotia Wealth Management When acting as Trustee, in most cases it’s advisable to consult an investment specialist to select the investments. The practical reason for doing so is to limit personal liability and ensure the assets are invested in a suitable way,…
This is a three-part blog series that seeks to explore the manner in which one can conduct estate planning with respect to their copy of the popular 2020 Nintendo Switch video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Part I will discuss the importance of this topic and describe the applicability of…
