Brown Bag Lunch – September 20, 2022

  • October 07, 2022
  • Rebecca Kennedy, Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP

OBA Trusts and Estates Section members gathered on September 20 for the first Brown Bag Lunch of the 2022-2023 term. Attendees were eager to jump back into the always fascinating practice discussions, and to share their thoughts and experiences with fellow OBA members.

The September BBL began with a discussion about beneficiary designations that name one of the deceased’s adult children, and whether assets with such designations need to be reported as estate assets in light of Calmusky v Calmusky, 2020 ONSC 1506. Participants seemed to be generally of the view that the Mak (Estate) v Mak, 2021 ONSC 4415 decision is correct in that the presumption of resulting trust does not apply to a beneficiary designation, and that such assets would not be considered as estate assets. A couple of BBLers also pointed out that, according to the estate administration tax guide, the Ministry of Finance position aligns with Mak Estate.