Trust & Estate Services

Calgary, Alberta

When it comes to estate services and trusts, the professional to trust is L Bloxham Professional Corporation.

You should have an estate plan in mind to control your assets both now and in the future so it is not left to mere chance, or rely on the specifications provided in your will. Setting up an estate plan will ensure that you leave behind an updated will to minimize your tax liability so your final wishes can be fully funded, and that your business can be either transferred or sold after your demise. In the area of estate planning, living trusts, testamentary trusts, and other trusts can be especially useful when the objective is to save and store assets for the future use of a designated individual. A trust can be created simply by transferring assets to a trustee, who then safeguards those assets until the specified time is reached.

Many people use trusts to manage family-related issues as well as planning for taxes. Here are some of the advantages of establishing a trust for your estate:

preserving specific assets
family asset protection
providing for current and future special needs, such as handicaps or disabilities
lowering probate fees (not applicable in Alberta)
freezing estate values
planning for business succession
inter-provincial planning for taxes
privacy and confidentiality, which avoids publicizing your intentions
U.S. estate tax consulting
managing international estates
income-splitting among beneficiaries
multiple uses of the capital gains deduction
residence planning (including a primary residence, cottage, or foreign property such as property in the USA)
deferring capital gains

The Value of Estate Planning and Living Trusts

In the areas of living trusts and estate tax planning in Alberta, our CPA firm will always keep your objectives firmly in mind, so you end up with what you wanted in the first place. Our technical expertise and experience allows us to direct you on how to achieve your intentions and wishes. We have knowledge of the trust rules and regulations in the province of Alberta. It is important to have a will and estate plan in mind to minimize taxes, safeguard assets, and leave a legacy behind for your beneficiaries. We can guide you with getting your business and/or personal affairs in order, so your legacy can live on without leaving the tax burden to your executor or trustees.

Living trusts can be invaluable legal documents that communicate your intentions, even in the event you lack the capacity to mitigate family dynamics. If the trust documents are written well, it will avoid the lengthy and costly processes of having to go through the court system. Our Calgary, Alberta CPA firm can provide suggestions on what should be included in a living trust document, so that your assets can be protected and will be distributed according to your wishes after you depart or the trust is collapsed. Your trustee can ensure that your explicit directions are carried out, and that all the appropriate beneficiaries receive the entitlements you intended to bequeath. If a living trust is setup properly it can bypass the probate process and your wishes can be carried out by the trustee without having to go through a long, drawn-out legal process.

Keeping an updated will with your intentions is imperative. Anyone who operates a business, owns real estate, has investments and/or savings, owns life insurance, or holds RRIFs, RRSPs, or net worth should have an estate plan. In order to setup your estate plan based on your intentions, we can assist with compiling an estate tax plan, guide you on how your will should be setup, and facilitate with the executor or trustee with the execution of the plan. If you decide to have your assets transferred to a trust (living or testamentary), we can provide direction on the transfer of assets to a trustee, so these assets are bequeathed to the appropriate individual beneficiaries, now and well after your own passing. Setting up an estate plan can, in most cases, minimize your tax liability, so your final wishes can be fully funded, and so your business or assets can be either transferred or sold after your passing.

Such critical decisions require the careful planning and support you will receive from a professional in tax and estate planning such as those at L Bloxham Professional Corporation (LBPC CPA).

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