This Blog was written by Emily Racine, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management Many of my estate planning conversations revolve around what I call the “hard topics” – such as, how do I save on taxes? Should I avoid probate? Do my children need a trust? However, one…
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Estate planning is an exercise in time travel. It is impossible to predict the future, especially when the time gap between planning and death is often decades. Fast forward 25 years, a charity may not exist when the estate is distributed. Charity law identified this problem and a solution to it over…
The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision in Gefen Estate v. Gefen is an interesting read which provides insight into a variety of topics including mutual wills and mutual will agreements, secret trusts, the doctrine of unconscionable procurement, and more! By way of background, Elias and Henia Gefen were married…
For my last blog post, I discussed the potential financial value of an individual’s “personalty” and clauses in wills governing such personalty. While an individual’s more traditional assets may include bank accounts, real estate or vehicles, there may also be some other personal items (e.g. collections) that may have significant…
This Blog was written by Jane Martin, Scotia Wealth Management In the matter of the Estate of John Ihnatowych, deceased[i] In late March of this year, a decision of Justice A. Sanfilippo was released, rectifying the will of the late John Ihnatowych (the “Deceased”). The decision prompted me to consider how…
This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Welcome back! This is Part 2 of a two-part series on unusual assets and estate administration. For part one, please see my blog post here. Typical assets in an estate consist of real property, automobiles, corporations, investments,…
I’m nerdy about my fair share of things. Star Wars isn’t one of them. But this is an estates blog and arrangements need to be made to take care of Baby Yoda should anything happen. Truth is, whenever the AAE schedule comes out, the first thing I do is sign…
Determining proper support in dependants’ relief claims is notoriously difficult and highly fact-driven. A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is a helpful summary of the applicable law in dependants’ relief claims. It also includes an analysis of why the deceased’s framework and structure for her son’s…
Today’s Blog was written by Rahul Sharma, Partner, Fasken LLP, Toronto My last blog post was very early in the year. In that post, I outlined — and generally responded to — certain common questions posed by newcomers to Canada. As the year progresses, Canada continues to draw in large…
In estates, the tax rules governing professional artists and their art are both enabling and complex. On the enabling side of the ledger, art is treated as inventory for tax purposes, which means works can have a NIL value. Sales, however, are fully taxable as income, not capital gains. On…