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Joint Tenancy and Right of Survivorship

There has been much case law surrounding the difficulties that may arise when a parent and adult child are joint tenants with respect to real property. In the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “Court”) decision, Jansen v. Niels Estate[1], the Court was faced with the issue of whether Theadora Niels’ (“T”) interest in her house passed by right of survivorship to her daughter-in-law, Ingrid Niels (“I”), pursuant to a joint….

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Don’t Make a Proprietary Estoppel You Don’t Intend to Keep

This article was co-authored with Ronald Neal, student-at-law. In its recent decision of Cowper-Smith v. Morgan, 2017 SCC 61, the Supreme Court of Canada expanded the application of the doctrine of proprietary estoppel to find that a person can be bound to fulfill a promise she makes in respect of property that she does not have an interest in at the time the promise was made. Facts   The appeal….

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The winds of change

As tax and estate planning goes, advisors look for signs of things to come and events to happen.  We have started to hear rumblings about rising interest rates perhaps suggesting some action may be required where prescribed rate loans are involved. Last week I was alerted to the fact the Bank of Canada posted the average yield on 3 month treasury bills 1.17%.  Should the average yield at the January….

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Estate Planning, Interest, Tax Issues, Uncategorized

2017 – Fake News & Fidget Spinners

This is my 8th annual year end investment review for Trusts. As I have indicated in the past, Trustees are accountable for a prudent investment policy. This includes a review of the performance of the investments in the Trust. For Trusts that hold a portfolio of marketable securities, a fundamental element of the review includes a comparison of the performance of the investments in the Trust against relevant benchmarks. For….

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Estate Administration, Investments, Uncategorized

Moving to another Province? Update your Estate Plans

It is common for Canadians to move from one province to another. As part of such a relocation, financial planning and personal relationships are among two aspects of life that often change or evolve. The law applicable to a particular matter may also change depending on the province. The jurisdiction of the applicable law governing pension plan funds was at issue in Rehel Estate v Methot. The deceased died in….

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The New TOSI Rules from 30,000 Feet

As I noted in my last blog, the Minister of Finance released revised draft legislation and explanatory notes for proposed changes to the tax on split income (“TOSI”) on December 13, 2017. The new rules are an improvement on the original July 18, 2017 release, in that they have been simplified in some respects. Nevertheless, they remain complex and questions remain about their application. The devil, as they say, is….

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