Probate fees: These two ways to avoid it also bring pitfalls

Finances are the last item on people’s minds when a loved one dies. Between grieving for the loss of a family member and caring for other members of the family, people worry more about feelings than finances.

Eventually family finances do kick in, primarily in the form of the deceased’s wishes for their assets. Taxes play a large role in the estate, but less known are the probate fees assessed by the courts as part of the estate probate.

This week Jeffrey Smith explains what probate fees are and why two strategies to avoid them are more complicated than they first appear. Jeff is a Manager in BDO’s Wealth Advisory Services practice, based in Kelowna, BC.

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By Jeffrey Smith

Probate fees are the estate administration fee charged by the courts to administer probate—which is the process to confirm that the will of the deceased is valid. If a will isn’t validated by the courts, third-party interests on assets such as banks or land titles will not transfer ownership to the estate. Any assets that transfer through the will to the deceased’s estate will be probated. If the will is not probated, there will be little success with transferring assets of the deceased to the beneficiaries of the estate, such as bank accounts, real estate, and investments.

Each province assesses its own probate rates. When looking at provinces where probate is more expensive, B.C., Ontario and Nova Scotia have rates ranging from 1.4% to 1.65% on estate assets exceeding a minimum - $50,000 in B.C. and Ontario, and $100,000 in Nova Scotia.

Let’s look at B.C. as an example. Someone with an estate worth $2 million would be subject to probate totaling $27,450: no fee for the first $25,000, then $150 for the next $25,000, followed by $1400 per additional $100,000.

As probate fees are significant, people try to plan appropriately to reduce it where possible. They or their estate may be subject to significant taxes on their death, before paying probate fees. However, some of these strategies create additional challenges.

Let’s examine a couple of the strategies used to avoid probate fees and the pitfalls that sometimes arise as a result. As you learn about these strategies, consider whether the benefits outweigh the costs for your estate.

Making a child joint owner of your home

People often wonder whether they should add their child to the title of their home. The thought is to allow the home to pass directly to the child, and not form part of the estate for probate. With properties in Canada having potentially very significant value, it becomes an appealing option to save on probate. However, there are potential disadvantages of making your child a joint owner of your home:

• May allow your child to borrow against or use the equity in the home as collateral for a loan without your consent
• Opens the value of the home to creditors of your children
• May form part of family property for division if your child goes through a separation
• Could potentially lose principal residence exemption on the portion of your home if your child owns a home themselves. This would create a future taxable event for your child, or even a loss of the exemption for the parents if the child wants to claim another home as a principal residence.
  

A possible alternative to transferring part of your home to a child is to place your home in a trust. This is complicated and should be discussed with your tax and legal advisors, but where structured correctly, the trust ownership may avoid probate on the home entirely. Alter ego and joint partner trusts will typically work to prevent probate fees and allow for the principal residence exemption. Again, this is complex and should be reviewed with your professionals in light of your provincial rules as it may not work in each province. 

Naming direct beneficiaries of your RRSPs or RRIFs

By naming direct beneficiaries of your registered accounts, you allow the value to bypass your will and avoid probate.

While naming a direct beneficiary avoids probate fees, the estate is still subject to tax (unless you have named your spouse as the beneficiary of your RRSP/RRIF, in which case, the transfer should be tax-free). The full value of your RRSP or RRIF at the time of death is taxable on the deceased’s terminal return. For example, if the RRIF had $500,000 of value and assuming that it is taxed at BC’s highest rate of 53.50%, there would be $267,500 of personal taxes due on the terminal return.

This presents two challenges. For one, if the estate had no other liquid investments or cash and taxes are payable, the executor of the will may struggle to come up with the cash. The beneficiaries of the RRSP or RRIF have the cash and the estate owes the tax owing on the RRSP or RRIF ($267,500 using the above example). If the beneficiaries do not want to fund the tax liability related to the RRSP or RRIF, it becomes an estate issue - i.e., the estate has the $267,500 tax obligation and the beneficiaries get the RRSP or RRIF value tax-free, an unfair result.  

Bloggers Note: There was a recent case in Ontario where the judge found a beneficiary son was not the RRIFs ultimate beneficiary (as there was not sufficient evidence to prove the father’s intention) and the court held the son was holding the RRIF in trust for the deceased’s estate. Legal advice should be sought regarding how this decision applies.

Secondly, if dealing with a large estate and testamentary trust planning is being used, any funds that flow outside of the estate, in this case the RRSP or RRIF account, would not be included in the testamentary trust. This could reduce the overall benefits of will planning that was previously completed.

When looking at implementing a probate savings strategy, it is important to discuss your goals, family situation, tax planning and net worth details with your financial advisor and tax and legal professionals. In doing so, you can weigh the benefits and costs for each specific asset type and make proper decisions in your estate planning, so that your probate planning decisions are not made in isolation. 

Jeffrey Smith, CPA, CA, CFP, CLU - is a Manager in BDO's Wealth Advisory Services practice. He can be reached at 250-763-6700 or by email at jrsmith@bdo.ca.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Financial & Tax Planning for the Terminally Ill - Part 2

Last week I wrote about organizing your affairs should you unfortunately be diagnosed as terminally ill. Today I will discuss some financial and tax planning considerations if you have been given a finite period to live.

Probate Fees & Income Taxes

Upon death, your estate will be subject to probate fees (more properly called estate administration fees in Ontario) and income taxes.

In order to minimize your probate fees and/or income taxes, I recommend you obtain tax and/or legal advice.

Probate Planning

This type of planning is complex and if not properly executed, can lead to income tax and legal issues. I have set out below some of the considerations in respect of probate planning. Again, get advice before considering any of the following planning strategies:

Joint Tenancy

In order to avoid probate fees, many people transfer their assets into joint tenancy, with the right of survivorship. This means that upon the death of one of the joint tenants, the property passes to the other tenant automatically. The risk with this type of transfer is if the property is capital property (such as stocks or certain real estate) that has appreciated in value, the transfer (if to anyone other than your spouse) will create a deemed capital gain and income tax liability.

So for example: if you transfer 100 shares of Bell Canada that cost you $2,000, either directly or into joint tenancy with your son and those shares are worth $5,000 today, you will have to report a capital of $3,000 if transferred directly, or $1,500 if transferred into joint tenancy; even though you just transferred the shares and did not sell them on the open market.

Where you are terminally ill, the deemed disposition may not be as large an issue as for a healthy person since you may only be accelerating the income tax liability a few months or years. This deemed gain upon death is discussed in greater detail below.

If you transfer a bank account or stock into joint ownership with one of your children to help you manage your money while you are alive, that child becomes the sole owner of that account when you pass away. That child may consider the account is theirs even if that was not your intention and decide not to share it with the other siblings. This can lead to estate litigation, especially where your intention is not documented.

Gifting

Similar to the issue above with joint tenancy, when you gift property to someone other than a spouse there may be a deemed capital gain where the property has appreciated in value. Thus, if you wish to make a gift, you should consider gifting cash instead of property to avoid any income tax issues (be careful to ensure any gifts are consistent with your wishes in your will- i.e. if you split your estate equally with your three children in your will, the gift should be 1/3, 1/3,1/3, or you may need to amend your will). However, care must be taken to ensure you will not need that money to live on or pay medical bills during your illness. I suggest you only gift money you are absolutely sure you will not need to live on.

Consolidation of Accounts

Many of us have multiple bank accounts, investment accounts, RRSPs etc. If you are terminally ill it may make sense to consolidate these accounts into one or two accounts to simplify your executor’s life. You may also want to consider liquidating certain investments so your executor does not have to deal with these decisions. However, you need to consider the investment merits of liquidation versus the “ease of administration” issue.

Estate/Income Tax Planning

As a courtesy to your executor, gather up you prior tax returns and put them in a box or file cabinet and ensure you advise your executor where they are located. If you made a 1994 capital gains election (a special election for that year only, that allowed you to “bump” up the cost of certain capital property), provide a copy of that return.

Income Tax Smoothing

If you are terminally ill and have a finite period of time to live, from an income tax perspective, you will want to minimize your tax bill over the remainder or your life by smoothing your income as best as possible. Smoothing your income involves utilizing the lower marginal rates, rather than just the high rate on death. Typically this would be done by drawing on your RRSP or RRIF. This may have the secondary advantage of providing funds to live on.

Capital Gains

Upon death, if you do not leave your assets to your spouse or you are the last spouse to pass away, you have a deemed disposition of your assets at fair market value. See my blog on death and taxes for more details. You can utilize any capital losses against capital gains in the year of death and can carryback any excess capital losses for three years. In addition, where you cannot use all your capital losses on your terminal return, the losses are deductible against all income on your terminal return or the year proceeding death.

Purify capital gains exemption

The same deemed disposition rule holds true for shares in any private corporations you may own. As discussed in my blog “Corporate Small Business Owners: Beware; the Capital Gains Exemption is not a Gimme” shares you hold in a small business corporation may be offside the rules to claim the $800,000 Capital Gains Exemption (indexed to $813,600 in 2015) where you have significant cash and/or investments in your corporation. In order to meet the criteria to qualify for the capital gains exemption, it is often advisable to pay a dividend from the corporation to reduce the corporation’s cash and near cash assets. Where you have a terminal illness, it is imperative you review the status of your corporation with your accountant to ensure your company is onside the rules or is “purified” to qualify for the exemption.

Charitable Giving

Consideration should be given to any charitable contributions you wish to make upon death or while alive. Any donations made in the year of death are not subject to any limitations and are 100% deductible. The tax savings are worth approximately one-half of the actual contribution. The rules for donations made in your will were made more flexible in the 2014 budget.

Medical Expenses

Medical expenses qualify as a non-refundable tax credit. In the year of death, medical expenses may be claimed for any 24 month period including the date of the person's death, which were not claimed in a prior year. Sometimes you may wish to amend a prior year’s medical expense claim to utilize the 24 month period option. However, as you would typically have significant medical expenses if you are terminally ill, there is often not much to be gained by using the 24 month option as you would receive a full tax credit.

This topic is unpleasant and dealing with financial and tax planning may be the last thing on your mind if you are terminally ill. However, engaging in financial planning for your own demise is prudent and your final act of kindness for your family and/or executors.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Wealth & Estate Planning Missteps

Wealth & Estate Planning Missteps

To help you avoid parting with your wealth, I'd like to share my article (link here) that I wrote today for the Globe and Mail Online Personal Finance Tax Section titled "Want the kids to inherit the house? Avoid these common tax mistakes." This article deals with common wealth and estate planning errors parents accidentally make because

they lack knowledge or because they listened to a tip they picked up at a cocktail party. These missteps relate to real estate transfers, probate planning and inheritance issues.

I would like to thank Roma Luciw, the Globe’s personal finance web editor, for providing me with the opportunity to write this article during Financial Literacy Month.

Long time readers will be shocked that Roma was able to have me condense my originally submitted article to only 650 words. I really appreciated Roma’s editorial expertise.

Dream Job by Richard Peddie - Book Giveaway Winners

The two winners of the autographed copies of Richard Peddie's Dream Job book giveaway are Steve K. and Imelda L.You will be contacted by email to arrange delivery.

Thanks to all the people who entered the contest. I had several women who entered on behalf of their husbands or boyfriends, since they thought they would like the book. Very interesting, I wonder how many guys would enter on behalf of their wives or girlfriends if it was a women related book giveaway. Just saying :)


 

Ontario Probate- You may want to plan to Die in 2012

I have discussed probate fees, now known in Ontario as the Estate Administration Tax (“EAT”) in several blogs. Probate Fee Planning is now a cottage industry in Canada, as Canadians strive to minimize this provincially mandated tax.

The EAT (what an appropriate acronym) is paid on the value of a deceased person’s estate when their executor(s) apply for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee (better known as “letters of probate”). Anyone who has had the unfortunate experience of being an executor can attest that without these letters of probate, you have no authority and the various financial institutions will not even to talk to you.

In Ontario, upon applying for the certificate of appointment, the executor must provide a list of the deceased’s assets and their fair market value and pay the EAT on those assets. In Ontario these fees are $250 on the first $50,000 and $15 per $1,000 of assets thereafter. Thus, the EAT on $100,000 would be $1,000 and on an estate of $1,000,000, the fees would be $14,500 . 

Although executors spend hours upon hours compiling the list of assets for the application to get the certificate, the Ontario government often accepts the tax paid without question and often does not follow up or audit the list and valuation of the deceased’s assets.

I recently attended the Ontario Tax Conference where there was some discussion about changes to the EAT legislation. These changes are summed up in this newsletter published by the law firm Cassels Brock titled “Taxed to Death: Heightened Audit for Ontario Estate Administration Tax”.  In this newsletter, the authors Ambie K. Edgar-Chana and Lindsay Ann Histrop discuss the audit and verification powers, as well as assessment powers, that the Ontario Ministry of Revenue will have beginning January 1, 2013. Ontario estate auditors will now have four years from the date the EAT is payable to assess or reassess the tax.

As a consequence of the increase in verification powers, the valuation of assets disclosed in the application will be subject to far greater scrutiny. Executor(s) will be required to assist the Ontario Ministry of Revenue and answer questions regarding the valuation of the estate’s assets. Executors will have to be extremely diligent in obtaining and documenting how they came to the valuation of assets reported on the application. In addition, beginning in 2013, executors will have to be extremely cautious in distributing assets before the end of the four year period, as they could be held liable for any additional probate taxes owing.

The heightened audit requirements in 2013 will likely result in increased liability for executors and will likely be a catalyst for even more probate planning to ensure the value of the estate is minimized for the EAT.

The blogs posted on The Blunt Bean Counter provide information of a general nature. These posts should not be considered specific advice; as each reader's personal financial situation is unique and fact specific. Please contact a professional advisor prior to implementing or acting upon any of the information contained in one of the blogs.