Kris Rossignoli, Cardinal Point’s Private Tax Manager, was recently featured in an article in the Financial Post about using trusts to protect your wealth.
A few highlights:
- A trust is a valuable financial planning tool that isn’t just for the wealthy.
- A legal arrangement, a trust holds money or assets “in trust” on behalf of someone who cannot manage them alone, like a child or an elderly person who is no longer able to handle his or her own affairs.
- In Canada, there are two broad types of trusts: testamentary and inter vivos.
- A testamentary trust is essentially an outline of how you want your assets divided after you die.
- An inter vivos trust can be in force while you’re still alive, and there are multiple forms.
- Rossignoli notes that many of Cardinal Point’s clients are using trusts to manage the use of vacation properties these days.
- While useful, trusts typically carry hefty fees for establishment and management.
- Income from trusts is also taxed at the highest marginal income rate.
Summary of Financial Post Article
Hear what Kris Rossignoli, Cardinal Point’s Private Tax Manager, revealed in a recent Financial Post article about how to take advantage of trusts to preserve and protect your wealth.
Key Takeaways
- Trusts can also be a valuable financial planning tool and legal arrangement, even if you aren’t wealthy.
- That’s because a trust can hold and manage money or other assets on behalf of someone like a child − or an elderly person no longer capable of managing their assets.
- There are two main types of trusts in Canada. An inter vivos trust is in effect during your lifetime, and a testamentary trust indicates what to do with your assets after your death.
- Many people even use trusts in creative ways to help them manage vacation properties.
- But income from trusts is taxed at the highest marginal income rate, and you may have to pay steep fees to establish and manage a trust.
That underscores the importance of a deeper understanding of trusts, their advantages, and any potential related expenses involved with them – as discussed by Rossignoli in this blog.