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New Probate Fee Act
Becomes Law
(May 1999)
by Del Elgersma
The B.C. government has passed the Probate Fee Act in
response to last year's Supreme Court of Canada decision that
Ontario's probate fees were unconstitutional. The court declared
that Ontario's probate fees were actually a tax. A tax can only
be imposed by an act of the legislature, not by cabinet regulation.
The Probate Fee Act retroactively confirms all past probate
fees charged since the fees were introduced in 1988, and continues
the present probate tax of 0.6% of that portion of an estate
valued between $25,000 and $50,000 and 1.4% of that portion of
an estate valued over $50,000.
With proper planning, many estates can be processed without a
probate application, and with many others the fees can be reduced.
Joint tenancy, gifts, trusts and beneficiary designations (on
life insurance, RRSPs, RRIFs and pensions) are some of the strategies
that can be used. However, unintended or undesirable consequences
can outweigh the savings, and any strategy should be considered
only in the context of an overall estate plan.
For more information on this or any other estate planning issue,
please contact us at your convenience.
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