The holidays are a time for family to gather together and share in the warmth of the season. If family members live at a distance, the holidays also provide one of the only opportunities of the year when adult children can sit down with their parents and siblings to discuss practical matters.
The news has been full of stories lately of surging real estate prices in the United States. Many Canadian visitors to such places as Florida, Arizona and Hawaii are seeing real estate promoters from these and other states running seminars about US real estate investing.
Many Canadians are viewing this as an opportunity to buy a US property before the prices get too high. But what are the consequences of owning U.S. property?
Your death will create problems. There will be three types - emotional, legal and financial. You can do certain things now, while you're alive, to reduce or increase these problems and make your heirs either love you or hate you.
You can increase the emotional upset after your death by leaving your affairs in a mess. Hide your will, or better still, don't make one. Have a number of secret bank accounts and investments.
If you are between the ages of 35 and 65, it is quite likely that someone you know has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Hopefully, there is time for them to review and organize their estate to ensure their loved ones are properly taken care of.
Joint ownership is used by millions for various reasons. When problems arise, they are usually unintentional and it can be too late to remedy them. For example:
Jane wants to avoid probate with as much of her estate as possible. She also wants her daughter, Sally, to have easy access to her cash at death to take care of last expenses. Jane thinks...she can do this by naming Sally on her bank accounts jointly.
On the surface, this looks like a quick and easy way to accomplish what she wants. It's what lies below the surface that can sink her financial ship.
We've all heard that life has two certainties - death and taxes. You need to know the two often coincide. While Canada does not have an official death, estate or inheritance tax, there are some postponed taxes that become payable on death. There are other obligations that need to be taken into account as well. Without proper planning, an estate may have to face large and unexpected cash shortages. Consider:
No matter how much we desire to protect the people most precious to us, the death of a family member is almost always met with some level of disbelief. In addition to the grief and mourning that follows the passing of a loved one, survivors are also left with the task of handling a variety of different matters at a time when they are probably least emotionally prepared to do so.
Here are some of the most critical matters that must be attended to when someone close to us passes away.
The new October 2016 Federal Government Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) rules are causing many Canadians to review and revise existing Wills and Estate Planning strategies according to STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Planners).
No one likes to think about their own mortality, but making a proper estate plan can help to lessen the grief of loved ones left behind. Alternately, without a written estate plan, surviving family members are often saddled with the responsibility of making estate decisions without a clear understanding of the deceased’s wishes.
With many Baby Boomers now moving into their sunset years, the growing concern is how they will efficiently and effectively plan for the transfer of their wealth to the next generation?
A recent survey by RBC Wealth Management estimated that the amount of money changing hands over the next twenty years is about $400 billion. Yet, only 22 per cent of wealthy Canadians have a detailed Estate Plan on how they plan to pass on their assets according to this survey.*
