Lorne Saltman - Family Matters On Line

What tax matters are important when emigrating?

By Lorne Saltman | Emigration and Immigration, Personal income taxes, Tax Planning | 4 min read

When you take up residence in another country, have you obtained advice on tax matters both on departure and on any risks of having continuing connections with your former residence? While it is possible with proper planning to minimize tax on expatriation to another country, it is equally important to reduce exposure to the risk of continued residence-based taxation in the former country. When my client Michael told me he was planning to leave Canada and needed tax advice, I prepared to give him some advice he was not expecting. He had...

Investing in U.S. Real Estate – A Canadian Perspective

By Lorne Saltman | Emigration and Immigration, Tax Planning | 3 min read

Structure your real estate investments to preserve your assets on a tax-effective basis If you are making investments in U.S. real estate, you can avoid common pitfalls and take full advantage of opportunities by using appropriate structures to preserve your assets and do so on a tax-effective basis. Holding Investments in U.S. Real Estate I recently advised my client, David, about an opportunity he was offered to invest in a U.S. real estate project. We started by identifying the structuring objectives: minimize U.S. taxation on income...

Protecting real estate after death – Canadian NPO

By Lorne Saltman | Living will and testaments | 2 min read

If you are considering acquiring a domestic vacation property, you can avoid common pitfalls and take full advantage of opportunities by using appropriate structures to preserve your assets and do so on a tax-effective basis. Non-Profit Corporation My client, David, was concerned that with the growth in the future value of summer vacation properties near Toronto, Canada, there will also come increased tax liability associated with such a vacation property. David asked how to structure the ownership of this property, so that the transfer...

Common pitfalls with a USA Family Trust

By Lorne Saltman | Foundations and Trusts, Tax Planning | 2 min read

Structure your real estate investments to preserve your assets on a tax-effective basis. If you are acquiring a vacation home in the USA, you can avoid common pitfalls and take full advantage of opportunities by using appropriate structures to preserve your assets and do so on a tax-effective basis. USA Family Trust My client, David, recently told me that as a so-called “snowbird” going to Florida each winter, he wanted to acquire a vacation property there. I advised him that a Canadian resident who dies owning property with a U.S. situs...

Common Tax Pitfalls with Real Estate Investments

By Lorne Saltman | Tax Planning | 7 min read

Structure your real estate investments to preserve your assets on a tax-effective basis In a variety of real estate investments, you can avoid common pitfalls and take full advantage of opportunities by using appropriate structures to preserve your assets and do so on a tax-effective basis. Investing Through Limited Partnerships I recently advised David, a successful real estate investor and , to use a limited partnership (“LP”) for a new project instead of his usual practice- a corporation alongside other corporate investments. I...

Principal Residence Trust

By Lorne Saltman | Estate planning, Protection of wealth and family assets | 2 min read

The family home is often one of the key family assets. It can be the object of friction among family members, and be subject to tax on sale or death, unless proper planning is implemented. A trust can be used to address these issues and minimize risk of loss. Preserve your assets with a principal residence trust Clients often ask me, “How can I best protect and preserve my assets, such as the family home, for my heirs?” I recently advised a couple before their upcoming second marriage, who wished to discuss what legacies they...

Tax-Driven Changes in Residency for Canadians

Tax-Driven Changes in Residency for Canadians For those with sufficient assets, tax-driven relocations and changes in residency have become commonplace. They began to occur in earnest in the 1990s and have increased in popularity ever since. In the past 1-2 years in particular, the popularity of residency changes for tax reasons has seen a marked rise. This has been driven by several factors,...

Statutory succession or last will – what is what?

Many property owners as well as owners of other assets ask themselves whether it is advisable to make provisions for their own death, or whether it is better to simply leave succession to the (German) law. Nevertheless, the ability to take such a decision in an informed manner requires knowledge of the rulings contained in the law. Only those who know the statutory mechanisms can achieve an...

Premarital and Postmarital Agreements – Common law, same sex marriages and divorce

Common Law Marriage A right at common law to marry exists unless state law affirmatively changes the right. Common-law marriage can be contracted in eleven U.S. states: Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and the District of Columbia. The requirements for a common-law marriage to be validly contracted differ in the...

Practical advice for the family-run enterprise

Introduction In Switzerland, as in many other countries, successful businesses are frequently managed and owned by families: a company once founded by an entrepreneurial grandfather decades ago is then build on by the next generation and the following generations managed to expand and consolidate the enterprise. This process is, however, frequently wrought with challenges, not only of a...

Premarital and Postmarital Agreements – Validity in the USA

Validity of Premarital and Postmarital Agreements in the USA All fifty states in the United States recognize the validity of premarital agreements and over half of the states have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act ("UPAA") adopted in 1983 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws ("NCCUSL"). The UPAA has been adopted by 30 states.[Arizona, Arkansas,...

Succession in Switzerland – Last Will

According to the general provisions of the Swiss International Private Law Act, Swiss courts or administrative authorities at the decedent’s last domicile shall have jurisdiction over probate proceedings and inheritance disputes. The jurisdiction of a state who claims exclusive jurisdiction over real estate within its territory remains reserved. The estate of a person with his or her last...

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