Estates & Trusts

Estate: The whole of one’s possessions, especially all the property and debts left by one at death.

Generally, a Trust law is an arrangement between a settlor, trustee and beneficiary whereby the settlor contributes property that is, after the transfer, legally owned by the trustee, who also manages and controls the property for the benefit of the beneficiary. This is unusually formalized by an agreement called the trust deed. The settlor is a person who transfers, lends or otherwise gives property to a trust. The trustee legally owns and administers the property. The beneficiary is the person for whose benefit the trust was created. A person (including a corporation) may hold one or more of these titles.

A Trust can be created upon the death of a person (a testamentary trust) or during a person’s lifetime (an inter vivos trust). A trust can be revocable, in that the settlor retains the right to terminate or otherwise alter trust deed conditions, or alternatively irrevocable. A discretionary trust is one in which wide discretionary powers are granted to the trustee in making decisions on behalf of the beneficiary, for example, whether to allow an encroachment on the capital of a trust.

The legal representatives "executors, trustees, administrators" are charged with the responsibility of filing the deceased’s income tax returns. The legal representative is also charged with filing any tax returns previously due but not yet filed.

The due date of a tax return is dependent on the date of death.

We specialize in Estates and Trusts so let us help to take the worry away from you! This is a very complicated area and should not be undertaken without the assistance of qualified professionals.

Need more information on Estates & Wills? Call us at 604-531-2292.