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Toronto Ontario Estate Law Blog
Testamentary Freedom: A Dying (no pun intended) Legal Principle?
One of the hallmarks of the English common law is the notion of testamentary freedom–that each of us is free to pass our property on death as we wish, and to whom we wish, and that we can be as foolish, eccentric or capricious as we choose to be, subject
Planning for Personal Care Issues – the Empowering Journey
Everyone knows about the shift in demographics in our society. People are living longer; it is estimated that one in ten Canadians born today will live to be 100! An aging population puts financial strains on individual, corporate and government resources, trying to keep up with unexpected demands and unplanned-for
US Citizens and Expatriation
U.S. citizens, including dual Canadian/U.S. citizens, may want to know more about how to expatriate from their U.S. citizenship. Approximately 5600 former Americans have renounced in the last four years, coinciding with an increased general awareness of tax compliance requirements for U.S. citizens worldwide. In this blog, we discuss what
Sometimes it is About the Tax – Inter-vivos Trusts and Spousal Loans
In our October 18, 2012 blog “Trusts – It’s Not All About the Tax”, I discussed a few non-tax reasons to consider in setting up a trust as part of estate and wealth planning. However, sometimes the goal is to minimize tax through income-splitting. Two methods of minimizing tax exposure
New harmonizing rules for cross-border succession in Europe and its impact on Canadians
When a person dies leaving assets in more than one country, conflict of laws rules (also known as private international law or PIL rules) step in to help determine which law should govern succession of the estate. These rules are often tricky and confusing to navigate. To achieve more clarity
What is “FATCA” and What Impact Does it Have for You?
The U.S. Government enacted the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) in 2010 to combat offshore tax evasion, introducing detailed reporting requirements which affect some Canadian individuals with U.S. connections and Canadian financial institutions. But did you know these requirements could also affect some Canadian trusts and that trustees
Great family cottage memories? Keep them that way.
If you own a family cottage or other vacation property, it may not be just a financial asset but an emotional investment for you as well, and therefore proper planning for this special asset is especially important in order to meet all your future goals for it. The financial aspects
Special Opportunities for Canadian Resident Estate Beneficiaries with a Non-Resident Relative
In this blog, we highlight some special opportunities available where a non-Canadian resident passes assets on death to a Canadian resident. To illustrate, a couple of common examples: You have a parent or other relative who never lived in Canada who will be passing significant assets down to you on
U.S. Estate and Gift Tax Planning – Considerations for 2013 and Beyond
Canadians with connections to the U.S., including those who own U.S. assets or have family south of the border, watched with interest as the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“ATRA”), became law in early January 2013. The ATRA answered important questions about the future of U.S. transfer taxes, including
Beneficiary Designations: When Less is Not More
You may know that having a beneficiary designation for your life insurance policies or registered retirement plans (RSPs) is a good idea, including in order to avoid Ontario estate administration tax (previously probate fees) on the value of assets which would otherwise pass through your estate (see our Client Advisory