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Privacy and the protection of personal data are a major concern in modern society. Complicated privacy legislation exists in many jurisdictions with the objective of protecting personal information by imposing multiple safeguards, some of which can be frustrating to deal with. With the increasing stores of digital information, we also
The Ontario Family Law Act (FLA) determines the division of property between spouses on marriage breakdown. But what happens when a spouse is a beneficiary of a discretionary trust? By way of background, the FLA requires each spouse on marriage breakdown to value his or her “net family property” (NFP).
With the advent on January 1, 2016 of the new income tax rules eliminating graduated income tax rates and imposing tax at the top marginal tax rate for testamentary trusts (trusts set up in Wills), some people may be of the view that using trust-planned Wills is far less attractive
One of the perceived disadvantages to using a trust in estate planning is that restrictions on trustees’ investment decision-making under trust law will result in lower investment returns. In particular, this is a concern where a trust has an income beneficiary to whom income is paid, usually for his or
It’s common knowledge that we are at the leading edge of an avalanche of wealth transfer. Baby boomers in increasing numbers are heading into their retirement years and beyond. The succession of capital that will occur is unprecedented. In the recent past, we’ve also seen higher average annual divorce rates
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
Transparency has become a powerful discussion point in recent years. A lack of corporate financial transparency has arguably been the cause of many modern major financial crises and corporate bankruptcies. Whether you agree with this view or not, transparency is a hot-button issue, both socially and politically. Lack of transparency
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.
A common consideration when completing or updating your estate planning is often how best to protect assets in the event of marital breakdown–whether your own marriage, including a second marriage, or an intended beneficiary’s (e.g., a child or grandchild). The need to protect certain assets may be even more pressing
Joint ownership of property is a common estate planning tool. Where property is owned jointly with a right of survivorship (as opposed to, for example, as tenants in common), the property passes in the normal course to the surviving joint owner on the other owner’s death. In these circumstances, the
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