Wine and Estate Planning
I recently went looking for information to assist wine and spirit collectors with their estate planning. To my surprise there is little material online. It’s easy to uncovered truth by drinking wine – “in vivo veritas” – but much harder to find a comprehensive Canadian resource about estate planning for collectors.
My Digital Afterlife
If I was to drop dead after writing this blog, what would happen to it and all my other detritus in hyperspace? My photos? My Facebook account? My YouTube channel filled with my oddball movies? Is it part of my estate? What are the responsibilities of my executor?
Estate Donations for Charities not yet Registered
The 2018 Federal Budget hinted that Canadian newspapers may be able to receive charitable status in the future. As I’ve previously written, making non-profit and local journalism an eligible charitable purpose is a timely idea — and it has implications for donor planning their estates. The Federal Budget got me thinking of a charitable planning conundrum: donors who wish to support a cause that is not yet charitable at law and therefore not yet advanced by a registered charity.
Donor Advised Funds are iPads, Testamentary Charitable Trusts are Commodores
The iPad, Apple’s touch-screen tablet, is a device that exemplifies innovative technology. The trust world is slower at introducing novel technologies, however, innovation does occur. The donor advised fund is an example.
The Terror of Giving Up (2006)
We're always told to address the donor's objections. It's a natural part of the gift-planning process. First we listen; then we assess; then we present a thoughtful, appropriate plan meeting the donor's aspirations and needs. But occasionally the process grinds to a halt. Paralysis hits, and the donor becomes incapable of implementing the gift.