In honour of the recent US holiday weekend, I thought I would focus on some estate planning topics south of the border for the next couple of blogs. Are you or someone you know:
- travelling to the US,
- buying or thinking of buying US real property,
- living in Canada but are a US citizen.
For all of these situations, there are estate planning considerations of particular importance to ensure that your legal obligations are met.
Travelling to the US
Not far behind our fine feathered friends who are heading south right now, many Canadians will soon head south for a winter escape. Even if it’s just for a brief family trip to Disney World at Christmas or March break, if you are preparing to get away from the cold, ensure that your will and powers of attorney (POA) are up to date before you go. Does your will reflect your current wishes? Does your executor know that he or she has been named and where to find your documents? If your children are under 18, does your will name a guardian? Will your POA’s be recognized in the jurisdiction you will be visiting?
If you plan an extended stay, you need to know how long you can legally remain in the US as a visitor. Astonishingly, there are four different sets of rules that govern residency. These rules often conflict with each other and compliance under one set of rules may not equal compliance under the others. For example, under the immigration rules, a visitor can legally remain in the US for up to 6 months while under the income tax rules, an individual will be deemed a US resident for tax purposes if legally present in the US for more than four months a year (the days need not be consecutive). There are also estate tax rules for which a specific set of facts and circumstances determines residency. Under provincial medicare rules, most provinces require an individual to be present in the province for a minimum of six months and have a permanent residence in the province to remain eligible for coverage.
Next time, I will take a brief look at issues related to owning US real property and US citizens living in Canada.
Reproduction of this blog is permitted if the author is credited. If you have questions or if you would like more information, please call us at 613 836-9915. This blog is not intended to be legal advice but contains general information. Please consult a lawyer or other professional to determine how the information in this blog might apply to you.
Blog posts pre-dated December 1, 2015 were originally published under Neff Law Office Professional Corporation.