our 10th year
blog anniversary
Many people think that they can’t appoint a family member (often their child residing in the U.S.) or friend who is a U.S. resident or citizen as the executor of their estate because it will cause too many complications, or perhaps they may have received advice from a source that
In my prior blog of March 3, 2020, “Inheritance Tax, Wealth Tax and More Capital Gains Tax: The Future of Canadian Taxation”, I raised the issue of whether new forms of tax might be introduced on the Canadian scene, including an inheritance tax or an annual wealth tax. My blog
Income tax matters and Canada Revenue Agency publications are often viewed as dull until they directly apply to our own situation. This is likely true for most people in respect of the prescribed interest rate. However, the prescribed interest rate can be of benefit to you, especially since it has
Trusts are often looked to in estate and wealth planning because of the potential tax advantages they can afford. Some of these tax advantages, including probate tax and income-splitting opportunities, have been examined in a previous blog post “Sometimes it is About the Tax – Inter-vivos Trusts and Spousal Loans.” As
The definition of who is and who is not a spouse, both for legal and income tax purposes, has changed a lot in the last few decades. Some previously discriminatory laws have been abolished (for example, the bar to same-sex couples marrying) and some rules have been updated to reflect
Last November 2019, I had the opportunity to organize a session and speak at the STEP Spotlight Conference in London, U.K., along with colleagues from several countries, including Brazil, U.S., Belgium, France, and the U.K. We discussed how our different countries tax on death and how double or even triple
A Canadian estate with U.S. connections can face complications due to the presence of any one of a number of factors. Sometimes these issues are known, and sometimes events occur which were not anticipated. When a child moves to the U.S., parents should review their estate plan and consider what
Alter Ego Trusts (“AETs”) and Joint Partner Trusts (“JPTs”) are effective tools to assist in probate and incapacity planning. AETs and JPTs are inter vivos trusts (meaning they are set up during a person’s lifetime), to which persons 65 years or older can transfer assets on a tax-deferred basis. An
With an aging population, and the trillion dollar transfer of wealth to occur in the face of a shrinking income tax base, and in the face of what some assert is an increasing concentration of wealth at the top, the burning question is whether new forms of death taxes will
In early February, I had the opportunity and pleasure of participating in a panel discussion of lawyers from several jurisdictions, including the U.S., Mexico, and Italy, at an international legal conference on the interesting topic “Inheritance Tax – Should More Countries Implement It?”. We discussed and compared how our different