Joint ownership accounts
Key considerations and understanding your options at RBC Dominion Securities
As part of the estate planning process, individuals will often consider establishing a joint account with one or more of their adult children or other family members. Sometimes, this is done as a tool for expediency so that a joint account holder can help to manage the account, or to make the assets immediately available to the surviving accountholder(s) upon the death of the first joint accountholder. In other cases, a joint account is a planning technique used as part of a strategy recommended by an individual’s legal and tax advisors to seek to minimize probate tax. Whatever the motivation behind the account, before you open a joint account, it is important to be aware of the different joint account types available at RBC Dominion Securities Inc., how these different joint account types operate, and the resulting potential benefits and considerations for each joint account type. It is also important to consider how a joint account fits into your overall holistic estate plan. There may be other estate planning tools that are more appropriate in light of your current or future estate plans.
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Income splitting and the attribution rules
Understand the rules that may prevent you from income splitting
If you are a high income earner and support family members with little or no income, you may be able to reduce the overall amount of income tax paid by your family by income splitting. Income splitting between family members is recognized as an acceptable tax planning method but the income attribution rules restrict the use of income splitting strategies. To determine whether you can benefit from family income splitting, it is important to understand how attribution works. This article discusses the various attribution rules as well as income splitting strategies that may help leave your family with more funds available for you to meet other financial planning goals.
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Recently divorced or widowed?
Five steps to protecting your finances
Losing a spouse through death or divorce can be an emotionally devastating experience. And yet it’s typically a time when many financial matters require your immediate attention. To help avoid making emotionally driven – and potentially harmful – financial decisions, it’s important to be prepared should you find yourself suddenly single. Here are five important action steps that can help protect your personal finances.
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2019 - Registered Plan Minimums and Maximums
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Old Age Security and other government income sources
Frequently asked questions
As you approach 65 years of age, you may have several questions surrounding the Old Age Security Program. This article discusses the Old Age Security pension and related benefits you may be entitled to receive, when you may be subject to clawback of these benefits and strategies for how you can minimize any clawback. Any reference to a “spouse” in this article also refers to a common-law partner.
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Canadian owners renting or selling U.S. real estate
Understand the key tax issues and potential strategies to minimize taxes payable
Each year, many Canadian snowbirds escape the long and cold winter by flocking to popular warm climate destinations in the U.S. such as Florida and Arizona. While some snowbirds choose to rent their vacation or retirement home in the south, others choose to purchase their own U.S. real estate property. Purchasing your own property has its advantages; however you may be surprised by the numerous tax requirements and other considerations that can substantially increase the complexity of owning real estate in the U.S.
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Five key questions in estate planning and wealth transfer
Striking the right balance to promote ongoing family harmony
When thinking about life in general, one of the most amazing aspects is that no two lives are ever the same. Each individual’s life is a unique combination of experiences, endeavours, successes, failures, hopes, and family and friends. As individuals progress through various life stages, there may be any number of changes or experiences that add layers and complexity to their personal situation and that may significantly impact future goals and intentions.
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Retiring in Canada
Strategies and solutions for those already in or approaching retirement
Comfort. Security. Leisure. These are three common words often noted in discussions about ideal perceptions of retirement. While many individuals associate these words with what they are aiming for when they retire, the question is, are Canadians thinking about and planning for retirement in the most effective ways? The goals individuals have for retirement understandably vary, from travel to spending more time with family to buying a vacation property, but there are definite trends in how Canadians both view and prepare for retirement.
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Until Death Do Us Part
Then everything can change ...
The focus of many estate planning books, articles and resources is on transitioning wealth to the next generation and preparing children for future inheritances. The majority of estate plans in Canada, however, involve a slight detour along the way to this transfer of wealth: the surviving spouse. These estate plans leave a deceased’s assets to the surviving spouse with the expectation that this individual, upon their death, will pass the estate to the next generation. This process also allows for a deferral of Canadian income taxes until the surviving spouse’s death.
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Charitable Giving
For years, Canadians have looked to various levels of government to fund much of the good work that charitable groups provide to enhance the quality of our lives. In recent years, governments have cut back on direct funding, and it’s now up to individuals and corporations to fill the gap. As a result, recent federal budgets have contained a number of changes in the form of tax incentives to encourage Canadians to give charitably.
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Unwinding the deemed disposition for returning Canadian residents
If you moved back to Canada this year and still own property that was subject to the Canadian “deemed disposition” tax rules in the year you moved away, there is a special tax election you can file. The tax election unwinds the deemed disposition that triggers unrealized capital gains on the property. The result is a tax-deferral of the income tax paid on the unrealized capital gains on the property, and the possibility of a lower tax liability when the property is actually sold.
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Tax-Free Savings Account
The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a flexible savings vehicle. It allows you to earn tax-free investment income which may help you reach your financial goals more quickly. The TFSA complements existing savings plans including your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and your Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). This article describes how the TFSA can benefit you and how to avoid some pitfalls and anti-avoidance rules that may apply.
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RRSP strategies at age 71
Even though you must wind up your RRSP in the year you turn 71, this does not necessarily mean that you can no longer benefit from RRSP deductions. The following strategies can be used, even after 71, as long as you still have RRSP contribution room or continue to make room.
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