Estate & Succession Planning

While a Will ensures that your assets are dealt with according to your wishes at the time of death, a Continuing (or Enduring) Power of Attorney for Property can provide for the proper management of your property and financial affairs during your lifetime, should you become mentally incapable or have to be absent for an extended period of time. Accordingly, a Power of Attorney for property is an important part of a complete financial plan.

While there are no death or estate taxes in Canada, provincial probate fees (also referred to as probate taxes) may be imposed on the value of parts of a deceased’s estate assets. This article explains the process, advantages, and costs of probate, and provides strategies to minimize probate taxes with probate-planning strategies.

You have devoted yourself to providing for your family and saving for a comfortable retirement, but have you also planned for what would happen if you were no longer around to take care of things or if you became incapacitated? While there are a number of legitimate reasons for avoiding the issue – ranging from “I don’t have time” to “it’s a difficult topic to think about” – estate planning is too important to ignore.

The funding of a Canadian life insurance policy is a common strategy for Canadian residents with excess liquidity who are looking for a tax-effective investment vehicle. However, when there is a U.S. person in the family, there are specific U.S. income and estate tax issues that should be considered.

Dynasty trusts are generally established by wealthy Americans to protect and preserve their wealth for the benefit of future generations. While you may be a Canadian resident and not a U.S. person, if you will be leaving a significant inheritance to a child or other beneficiary who lives in the U.S. (or is considered a U.S. person for U.S. tax purposes), you may want to consider establishing a U.S. dynasty trust.

As a Canadian you may be unaware that your estate could be impacted by U.S. estate tax if you own U.S. securities or U.S. real estate. This article highlights the potential U.S. estate tax implications that could apply to Canadian estates and suggests a number of planning opportunities to help Canadians minimize these taxes. The strategies discussed in this article apply to individuals who are tax residents of Canada and are not U.S. citizens or taxed as a U.S. person. All amounts quoted are in U.S. dollars.