our 10th year
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Organizing one’s estate planning to minimize estate administration taxes or “probate fees” (the tax collected by the Ontario government on the date of death value of a deceased’s estate when an estate representative applies to the court for a certificate of appointment) has been a popular goal for Ontarians given
Discretionary trusts are common estate planning tools used for a variety of reasons such as tax minimization and general wealth protection, including protection on matrimonial breakdown and from creditors. These trusts are often used in an estate freeze where shares in privately-held corporations are “frozen” to defer capital gains liability
The case of Kilitzoglou v. Cure highlights the confusion and difficulty sometimes caused when an issuer of a life insurance policy or retirement plan requires a beneficiary designation to conform to its standard form and rules. In that case, the deceased filed a change of beneficiary designation form with Trans-America
You may or may not have heard of the term “ethical will”. An ethical will doesn’t deal with money or assets, but instead with values, beliefs, words of wisdom, inner thoughts, and family history and tradition. We predict it will become a more common part of the estate planning process
For many, borders between home and foreign jurisdictions increasingly matter less and are easily overlooked when acquiring new assets, like a second home in another country and bank accounts and other financial assets. Updating your estate planning to reflect the new status quo of foreign asset ownership, however, doesn’t always
Advance care planning is the process of planning for your future care. An important component is documenting your wishes with respect to personal care and discussing them with your attorney for personal care, your family, and your friends, as appropriate. Wishes can be expressed in your power of attorney for
The world is only getting smaller, not bigger. Technological change combined with affluence has increased our connectivity. People are travelling more and increasingly buying foreign real estate and residing in different parts of the world for extended periods of time – often in warmer climates south of the border in
Many of you have no doubt heard a lot about FATCA in the press and elsewhere (for example, our June 3, 2013 blog post “What is ‘FATCA’ and What Impact Does it Have for You?”). This legislation is complex, and the questions that come to mind are: what is the
We are undoubtedly in the early stages of a surge of a substantial segment of the Canadian population reaching ages when capacity issues will start surfacing for some. With advances being made every day in all areas of health care, we will be faced with an aging population living for
When planning for the financial security of a family member with a disability, it is important to take into account his or her unique circumstances and needs. Available planning options sometimes place a large emphasis on ensuring that income support under the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is not jeopardized.
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