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Latest news in Estate Planning

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Proposed AMT could discourage large philanthropic gifts

Only half of the donation tax credit can be applied against the AMT, down from 100%

father and son conversation

Help clients prepare for a serious illness

Clients may be more open to discussing serious illness planning than death planning

  • By: Melissa Shin
  • September 26, 2023 September 26, 2023
  • 16:29
Will document

Do executors have to accept the role?

What to know before administering an estate

Exterior of CRA headquarters building

CRA releases new form for reporting beneficial ownership of trusts

Trustees must use Schedule 15 to report names, addresses and tax information numbers for beneficiaries

Wooden box lined with hay from the chicken eggs

Feds release draft changes to pension rules for “unlocatable” members

Draft rules are intended to help administrators match beneficiaries with unclaimed pension benefits

CRA says trustees must report on contingent beneficiaries too

Agency requires names, addresses and taxpayer information numbers under expanded trust reporting rules

How employee ownership trusts limit estate planning

Challenges for business-owner clients include taxable disposition and compliance costs

House for sale

How is an FHSA taxed at death?

It’s not too early to consider the estate implications if someone dies while holding an FHSA

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Taxation of employee stock options

Help your client consider tax-preferential treatment, donation of shares and AMT

calculating numbers for income tax return with glasses pen and calculator

Understanding the CPP death benefit

The amount has been falling in real terms

  • By: Lea Koiv
  • May 12, 2023 June 30, 2023
  • 10:59
digital tools

Digital tools make life easier for executors

Estate professionals are also adopting platforms to streamline the administration process

Business people, entrepreneur, business, small business concept

Employee ownership trusts introduced, but with no incentives

Advocate suggests EOT legislation, as proposed in the 2023 federal budget, will not lead to increased employee ownership

Medical solution health care concept as a doctor walking on a red tightrope or highwire around a group of tangled wires as a symbol of challenges in insurance and the risk in illness treatment for patients

Court refuses to force capacity assessment on unwilling senior

B.C. decision could close door on court-ordered capacity assessments, highlighting the importance of helping clients establish estate documents

Raymond James acquires Solus Trust

Vancouver-based trust company manages $400 million in assets

Will document

Former fund rep sanctioned over clients’ estate disclosures

Potential conflicts involving clients' wills weren't reported to dealer

Common gaps when appointing an attorney for property and personal care

A case study explains the challenges

Can an executor quit?

Yes, but it’s complicated

gavel

No duty to disclose beneficiary change, court finds

A widow sued her brokerage firm, alleging it failed to tell her about a change in her husband's accounts

Man Sitting at a Table Using a Calculator

B.C. lawyers still wary after a year of electronic wills

Lawyers suggest there are too many unknowns in the process to sway them from more traditional methods

Financial Advisor Assisting Senior Couple

Withdrawal strategy can help retirees reduce tax hit

Helping clients establish a "hierarchy of withdrawals"

Power of attorney and incapacity planning: Do you have a plan?

Addressing estate planning’s ignored middle child

Will document

Disinheriting a child easier in some provinces than others

Recent legal cases highlight varying testamentary freedom across Canada

Business people at work in their office

What to know about the new intergenerational transfer rules

Business owners planning for succession must meet certain criteria

Old vintage books in a row

Disinherited children win big in Alberta and B.C. courts 

Such scenarios are becoming increasingly common as estate sizes increase, a Vancouver lawyer suggests

wills-estate-battle

Ontario amends estate forms, again, to clarify instructions

The province aims to streamline probate applications and speed the court review process