Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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beetee
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Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

Post by beetee »

I am anticipating an eventual inheritance from my mother, who is still in good health but old enough now that I need to plan for the inevitable. I am her only child and lone heir. I will most likely serve as estate executor. She is a dual US/Canadian citizen and a Canadian resident. I am a dual citizen living in the US. Her house and her investment accounts are in Canada (BC). There will obviously be a number of issues to deal with but I'd like to start with one in particular: how to best liquidate her stock holdings. The great majority of her stocks are Canadian companies on the Toronto exchange. They are held by an old-fashioned full-service broker with whom she's had a relationship for decades. They are nice folks, but I'd really like to avoid their crazy fees: I think they'll want to charge 2% of gross simply to sell the stocks.

So, a couple of questions occur to me: is it possible to recharacterize the shares of companies that are listed on both TO and NYSE, so that they will effectively become US Dollar holdings that can be traded in the US?

The other question is how to get the stocks away from the full service broker most gracefully and with the least expense. I do not know whether they would impose a fee if I were to move her account to another broker--is that something I should expect?

I have accounts with Vanguard in the US--would it be possible to directly transfer US denominated shares into my US domiciled account? That would be ideal: I could sell the stocks on my own timetable at negligible cost ($2/transaction) and reinvest the funds immediately in my home account.

If not, will it be possible for me to establish an account with a discount broker in Canada, transfer the assets, then have the discount broker liquidate shares? I presume this arrangement would save me money, but if there are costs I'm not considering, please point them out to me.

Any insights, guidance, suggestions, etc., would be very welcome. Living in the US as I do, my knowledge of Canadian tax, banking and brokerage laws and conventions is scant. Thank you in advance.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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beetee wrote: 30 Sep 2017 20:16 I am anticipating an eventual inheritance from my mother, who is still in good health but old enough now that I need to plan for the inevitable. I am her only child and lone heir. I will most likely serve as estate executor. She is a dual US/Canadian citizen and a Canadian resident. I am a dual citizen living in the US. Her house and her investment accounts are in Canada (BC). There will obviously be a number of issues to deal with but I'd like to start with one in particular: how to best liquidate her stock holdings. The great majority of her stocks are Canadian companies on the Toronto exchange. They are held by an old-fashioned full-service broker with whom she's had a relationship for decades. They are nice folks, but I'd really like to avoid their crazy fees: I think they'll want to charge 2% of gross simply to sell the stocks.

So, a couple of questions occur to me: is it possible to recharacterize the shares of companies that are listed on both TO and NYSE, so that they will effectively become US Dollar holdings that can be traded in the US?
You can elect to hold those stocks on the US$ side of her Canadian brokerage account and trade them on the NYSE ( but within her Cdn brokerage) but I don't think this is what you really are looking for
The other question is how to get the stocks away from the full service broker most gracefully and with the least expense. I do not know whether they would impose a fee if I were to move her account to another broker--is that something I should expect?
Yes there would be a transfer fee to move the stocks, in kind, or in cash to another brokerage
I have accounts with Vanguard in the US--would it be possible to directly transfer US denominated shares into my US domiciled account? That would be ideal: I could sell the stocks on my own timetable at negligible cost ($2/transaction) and reinvest the funds immediately in my home account.
AFAIK this is not possible
If not, will it be possible for me to establish an account with a discount broker in Canada, transfer the assets, then have the discount broker liquidate shares? I presume this arrangement would save me money, but if there are costs I'm not considering, please point them out to me.
Yes may be possible but very challenging for a US resident. If this could be done, again there would be a transfer fee - see additional comments below
Any insights, guidance, suggestions, etc., would be very welcome. Living in the US as I do, my knowledge of Canadian tax, banking and brokerage laws and conventions is scant. Thank you in advance.
Ok First are you planning on doing this after your mother passes away, or before?
If your mother passes away and you are the executor of her will then her trading account will be frozen until you obtain a grant of probate.this can take several months and is basically submitting proper documents to the court with a list of her assets, paying the apporopriate fee and the court will recognize you as the executor. At this point you can begin liqidating and distributing assets.
Prior to probate, her bank will pay funeral expenses from her account upon presentation of bills. Note they will not likely reimburse you if you pay them first.
Her broker will freeze activity on her account but they may, and I emphasize may, allow you to sell stocks to cash to reduce risk to the estate.
Once you have probate the broker will allow you to sell off and liquidate all holdings and close the account. They may allow a transfer in kind to a brokerage account in your name but again a fee would apply. I suspect you would have a great deal of trouble with opening a brokerage account in Canada as a US citizen and resident.
In some cases depending on the relationship the broker had with your mother, and how nice you are to the broker, he may sell off all the holdings at a fairly reaonable fee.
So while technically you could do some of the things you ask, to do them as an executor throws a wrench in the works.
If you are power of attorney for your mother, some of this stuff could be done while she is alive although you would not be allowed to transfer to to your name.
There will be taxes to pay on sale of shares, probate fees etc all of which will likely be more than any fees to sell stocks. You will also need to know if she holds any stocks in a RIF, TFSA, or simply a trading account. Further you will have to file both US and Cdn estate tax returns and possibly pay US estate tax.
I suspect you may need more expert guidance than a forum can offer, depending on whether or not yoyr mother has kept her USA tax filings up to date.

Sorry if a few spelling errors- typing on mobile- will update later.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

Post by beetee »

Thank you for this reply.
twa2w wrote: 30 Sep 2017 22:56
Ok First are you planning on doing this after your mother passes away, or before?
After. She still uses the dividends for her living expenses, and enjoys following the day-to-day stock prices.

If your mother passes away and you are the executor of her will then her trading account will be frozen until you obtain a grant of probate.[...]I suspect you would have a great deal of trouble with opening a brokerage account in Canada as a US citizen and resident.
I believe that the stock accounts were placed in a trust... we went to a tax lawyer for this, so I'm hoping that whatever is in the will/trust will expedite matters. I am concerned about opening an account as a non-resident. I am a Canadian citizen,too, but does that matter? I get the sense that residency is all the Canadian law cares about.

In some cases depending on the relationship the broker had with your mother, and how nice you are to the broker, he may sell off all the holdings at a fairly reaonable fee.
That is very possibly where this is headed. I know they are charging my mother hefty fees, but I have known these people for years and if they choose to discount their rate under the circumstances, that'd be great. They are nice folks, but proceeding with a business model that is decades out of date.
There will be taxes to pay on sale of shares, probate fees etc all of which will likely be more than any fees to sell stocks. You will also need to know if she holds any stocks in a RIF, TFSA, or simply a trading account. Further you will have to file both US and Cdn estate tax returns and possibly pay US estate tax.
There will be capital gains taxes, for sure. I'm hoping--naively?--that the trust document will spare me from probate fees with regard to the investments. Her estate will not approach the threshold (currently $5 million +) for US estate taxes, so no worry there.
I suspect you may need more expert guidance than a forum can offer, depending on whether or not yoyr mother has kept her USA tax filings up to date.
She files both US and Canadian returns every year, so hopefully there will be no tax issues south of the border, beyond the need to file the final return.

Thank you again!
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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Ok so a trust changes everything unless it was a testamentary trust set up under her will. Esp wrt USA. And awesome that she has filed both US and Cdn returns.

If most or all of her assets are in the trust then things should be simpler in most respects. Some of this stuff will depend on who the trustee is, wording of the trust, and how the beneficiary wording is laid out. I assume the trust is considered a resident Canadian trust and files an annual Canadian trust return

Yes the trust assets should be excluded from probate fees. . The trust will have to file a final tax return as well - not sure how capital gains are treated under the trust for taxation but the trust will likely have no exemptions.

Depending how the trust is set up, the broker may simple move the assets to your name. But because you are a US resident, he can only sell the assets so yup, fees.

Is your mom's house held in the trust as well. She would retain the principal residence exemption for Cdn tax if it is held in the trust.
If it is not in the trust and she moves it in, to avoid probate on that asset, she will have to show on her tax return, disposition to the trust. The cost of moving the house to the trust may ecceed any savings in probate depending on house value.

Trusts are not real common in Canada the way your mom is using one, so expect some hesitation and lack of knowledge in dealing with this when the time comes.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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Is there something wrong with the shares your mom holds that you want to sell them ASAP after she is out of the picture? How has her portfolio done in comparison to yours?
This is what I fear will happen to my portfolio on my death but I think my wife and or daughter are smarter than this.(JMO)
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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beetee wrote: 30 Sep 2017 23:23 Thank you for this reply.
twa2w wrote: 30 Sep 2017 22:56
Ok First are you planning on doing this after your mother passes away, or before?
After. She still uses the dividends for her living expenses, and enjoys following the day-to-day stock prices.
Would yor mother be willing to transfer the stocks to a Canadian discount broker while she is stilll alive? She could still receive the dividends and follow the day-to-day stock prices. The full-service broker will charge a transfer fee, but whenever I've transferred assets from one Canadian institution to another, the receiving institution has ALWAYS reimbursed the fee charged by the delivering institution.

I've got to think that this will save you money later when these assets eventually get sold.

Of course, this may not be realistic, given your mother's relationship with her current broker. (That said, I had a great relationship with my full-service broker, but he completely understood when I went DIY. We parted on very good terms.)

a_l
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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BRIAN5000 wrote: 01 Oct 2017 02:30 Is there something wrong with the shares your mom holds that you want to sell them ASAP after she is out of the picture? How has her portfolio done in comparison to yours?
This is what I fear will happen to my portfolio on my death but I think my wife and or daughter are smarter than this.(JMO)
Thanks for the response, BRIAN5000. There are a bunch of reasons for liquidating at least most of the assets:

1. Big tax bills that will come due quickly--most of the value of the stocks is in capital gains, plus there will be probate on the house and other estate related costs.
2. I live in the US. I want to bring the assets to the US. Unless a different strategy appears (i.e., I can transfer in-kind into my us brokerage account) it looks like selling and bringing across cash is the way to go. There's much complication and no advantage that I can see if I retain a large portion of my investible and dividend-producing assets in Canada. (Retiring in Canada is a tempting and recurring thought, but as of now I plan to remain permanently where I am, in California.)
3. I have my own investment plan, and it does not make sense for me to concentrate my portfolio in a handful of inherited high-dividend Canadian stocks.

If your fear is that I'm an irresponsible heir planning to go on a spending spree, don't worry; I'm a saver. I'm thinking about this in terms of my retirement nest egg.

What works in one person's situation doesn't always work well for others. I believe that many serious financial mistakes are made by people who refuse to treat inherited assets rationally because their departed spouse or parent held that particular stock, or built a business, or loved a special car, and they can't bear to part with it. If you have a diversified, tax efficient, risk-controlled, low cost portfolio built for the long term, then it would be great to educate your loved ones as to what those investing principles are and why they should stay the course. But "because Dad did it that way" does not count as sound principle, in my opinion.
Last edited by beetee on 01 Oct 2017 14:38, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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always_learning wrote: 01 Oct 2017 07:15
Would yor mother be willing to transfer the stocks to a Canadian discount broker while she is stilll alive? She could still receive the dividends and follow the day-to-day stock prices. The full-service broker will charge a transfer fee, but whenever I've transferred assets from one Canadian institution to another, the receiving institution has ALWAYS reimbursed the fee charged by the delivering institution.

I've got to think that this will save you money later when these assets eventually get sold.

Of course, this may not be realistic, given your mother's relationship with her current broker. (That said, I had a great relationship with my full-service broker, but he completely understood when I went DIY. We parted on very good terms.)

a_l
Thanks for this--it's a very good suggestion. Alas, I have tried, and failed. There was a golden opportunity a few years ago, when her broker switched employers and her assets needed to be transferred to a new brokerage house. My mother is loyal to her broker, and she feels like she gets something for her money--they call her with sales pitches for various stocks and will even make the occasional visit to her house. My mother also seems to think that a discount broker must be an inferior, cut-rate service. Of course it's true that nobody will stop over for tea...

Here's a question: there's no way that I can get my mother to bail on her broker, but I probably could persuade her to open an account with a discount broker--maybe fund it with just enough to make a small purchase of some etf--if I can convince her that such an account will be useful to me in handling her estate. The question is whether that would be true--would it give me a useful option if she established a small account at another broker? In other words, could I later use that account to move the assets from the full-service brokerage?
Last edited by beetee on 01 Oct 2017 14:06, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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twa2w wrote: 01 Oct 2017 00:26 Ok so a trust changes everything unless it was a testamentary trust set up under her will. Esp wrt USA. And awesome that she has filed both US and Cdn returns.

If most or all of her assets are in the trust then things should be simpler in most respects. Some of this stuff will depend on who the trustee is, wording of the trust, and how the beneficiary wording is laid out. I assume the trust is considered a resident Canadian trust and files an annual Canadian trust return

Yes the trust assets should be excluded from probate fees. . The trust will have to file a final tax return as well - not sure how capital gains are treated under the trust for taxation but the trust will likely have no exemptions.

Depending how the trust is set up, the broker may simple move the assets to your name. But because you are a US resident, he can only sell the assets so yup, fees.

Is your mom's house held in the trust as well. She would retain the principal residence exemption for Cdn tax if it is held in the trust.
If it is not in the trust and she moves it in, to avoid probate on that asset, she will have to show on her tax return, disposition to the trust. The cost of moving the house to the trust may ecceed any savings in probate depending on house value.

Trusts are not real common in Canada the way your mom is using one, so expect some hesitation and lack of knowledge in dealing with this when the time comes.
Thanks again, this is all very useful information. To the best of my knowledge, the house was not placed in the trust--there were some cross-border questions that we never fully resolved. If I remember correctly, this was described as a "grantor trust." Does that make sense? I am not sure whether separate tax returns have been filed under the name of the trust--my guess is that they have not.

By the way, in response to an earlier comment: none of my mother's assets are in RRSPs or other tax-privileged accounts. Everything is taxable.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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Twa2w has provided some very good informaiton. He is right in that your situation may require the advice of a cross-border tax accountant to sort out what is best...vs anonymous posters on an internet forum.

A couple of points though that I think I can comment on:

1. Transferring assets-in-kind from a Canadian brokerage to a US brokerage is very difficult. Likely impossible if they are in a trust. So I'd try and forget that one.

2. There will be cap gains taxes either in your mother's Final T1 return, or within the trust (if the assets are in the trust). Generally speaking, a broker will allow the sale of the assets before probate 'to protect capital' but not to remove them from the account in which they exist. We did that with my mother's equities.

3. There is little liklihood of you being able to open a Canadian discount brokerage as you being a tax resident of the USA. TD Direct Investing may be the only one that might do that. I do not see a worthwhile advantage of trying to move the assets from a full service broker to a discount broker just to save some commission. The headache may not be worthwhile.

Indeed, when it comes time to liquidate the assets, you can probably negotiate a 'bulk' commission from the full service broker once the assets are transferred to your name....because the threat of the alternative would be to tell the full service broker that you just might open a discount brokerage account and transfer the assets to it first and then sell them on your own. The full service broker may do a package deal for you to sell all assets for a fixed fee, e.g. $1000 or $500 or something similar.

4. If you want to have as much of the proceeds in USD as you can, simply sell Canadian interlisted stocks on the NYSE and have the proceeds settle in to the USD side of the brokerage account. You need to request the broker to do that.

Regarding your latest post, on a 'grantor trust', I an not sure exactly what that means but there are a few links:
https://www.collinsbarrow.com/en/cbn/pu ... ian-trusts
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency ... rusts.html

From the latter link, I am guessing what your monther has is an 'alter ego' type of 'inter vivos' trust where your mother remains in direct charge of the assets and receives the income and is taxed on it (the trust doesn't pay taxes). That is as far as I have read on any of this. Some research may be in order.

Added: http://www.advisor.ca/tax/tax-news/new- ... ada-179333 This seems worthwhile for you to work through and most directly relates to your (and mother's) situation.
Last edited by AltaRed on 01 Oct 2017 14:34, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

Post by beetee »

AltaRed wrote: 01 Oct 2017 14:28
Regarding your latest post, on a 'grantor trust' [...]

From the latter link, I am guessing what your mother has is an 'alter ego' type of 'inter vivos' trust where your mother remains in direct charge of the assets and receives the income and is taxed on it (the trust doesn't pay taxes).
I'm obviously not entirely clear on the specifics of the trust, but what you describe is consistent with what I do know.

Thank you very much for your useful info and suggestions!
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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See my added link in my prior post....
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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AltaRed wrote: 01 Oct 2017 14:35 See my added link in my prior post....
Thank you once again. These cross-border tax issues are a very complicated moving target, or at least that's how they seem to me. Even the tax-specialist lawyer in Canada didn't seem confident about some of the aspects on the US side. Now I see that some of the relevant laws may have changed since that visit to the lawyer.

In my case, the US estate tax will not be an issue (my mother's estate is not that large), but I do hope there's a way to avoid much US tax on her estate's final return, given all the taxes the estate will be paying in Canada...
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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From the brief scan i did of the Advisor link, it seems Canada's tax laws now conform more to the USA. I suspect the FTC (Foreign Tax Credit) allowed under the US-Can tax treaty will eliminate all/most of double taxation. You will need some expert help to deal with this estate upon mother's death.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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This is above my pay grade. But frankly, if you are planning to execute an estate of this complexity from a foreign country, I would recommend hiring executor services (from any Trust company) when the time comes. It will cost you money, but trying to do it all yourself will shorten your life. I think you should have a look at all the things an executor has to do, and think about how you are going to do this from the US. (Lawyers don't usually recommend that executors be even out of province, let alone out of country.)

IMHO opinion your obsession with the 2% trading fee is misplaced. You are looking a gift horse in the mouth and arguing about the fee to deliver it to your stable. At the very least the full service brokerage will provide you with the necessary tax information for: the Final Return; the Estate Return; and any Trust Returns, if it is a continuing Trust. And they will be able to advise you if there is a way of transferring stocks in kind to you, or if everything has to be liquidated.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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Good advice to have at least someone local in BC to provide guidance. How much one pursues in 3rd party expertise will also depend on how big the esate might be. A 7 figure estate is worthy of hired expertise and the full service broker can provide some of that...as noted by OGG.

Added later: A couple of links on Executor Duties in BC... recognizing these are written by lawyers who likely want to make it look harder than it is.....but
http://wiki.bcheritagelaw.com/index.php ... CUTOR_DOES
http://www.lawyers-bc.com/probate/probintro.htm

It will be difficult to handle the paperwork directly when out-of-province, never mind out-of-country. Much of the stuff an out-of-province executor will need to sign will need to be accompanied by a notarized Affadavit from the Executor's jurisdiction. I can't imagine a California notary understanding what is required by BC Estate Law.

I don't recall you mentioning about assets outside the trust, but there will be some and they will need to be probated. You will need a BC lawyer to do that for you. Then there is all the paperwork to change registrations of real property, autos, etc. and to sell said assets.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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AltaRed wrote: 01 Oct 2017 15:39 Good advice to have at least someone local in BC to provide guidance. How much one pursues in 3rd party expertise will also depend on how big the esate might be. A 7 figure estate is worthy of hired expertise and the full service broker can provide some of that...as noted by OGG.
In addition to involving a lawyer or accountant as seems appropriate, I do have a trusted relative, a cousin, who lives there and whom I can involve as needed. She's not a financial professional, but she did just supervise the sale of a house and other estate matters for her recently deceased parents. She is listed (with her knowledge and consent) as the back-up executor for my mother, should I not be able to complete the task.

The estate size will reach 7 figures if one includes the house, which is worth more than the investment portfolio. Investments alone are enough that the brokerage fee for liquidation could exceed $10,000. Contrasting that with my US broker fees for the same service--probably $30 total--it does seem like an expense worth avoiding, if I can.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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beetee wrote: 01 Oct 2017 16:12 The estate size will reach 7 figures if one includes the house, which is worth more than the investment portfolio. Investments alone are enough that the brokerage fee for liquidation could exceed $10,000. Contrasting that with my US broker fees for the same service--probably $30 total--it does seem like an expense worth avoiding, if I can.
My last comment on the matter will be to caution about being penny wise and pound foolish. It will cost you many thousands in other costs to try and get cute worrying about brokerage fees.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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AltaRed wrote: 01 Oct 2017 16:26
beetee wrote: 01 Oct 2017 16:12 The estate size will reach 7 figures if one includes the house, which is worth more than the investment portfolio. Investments alone are enough that the brokerage fee for liquidation could exceed $10,000. Contrasting that with my US broker fees for the same service--probably $30 total--it does seem like an expense worth avoiding, if I can.
My last comment on the matter will be to caution about being penny wise and pound foolish. It will cost you many thousands in other costs to try and get cute worrying about brokerage fees.
Really? What expenses would be triggered by moving, say, to a discount broker? I'm aware that there are many other costs and complications related to the estate, and I know many are unavoidable and hiring a lawyer, for example, will probably be a big expense that is entirely worth it, but I don't understand why trying to reduce that liquidation cost would end up costing me more... please explain. What am I missing?

Thanks again for all of your useful advice.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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1. You need to find a discount broker that will open a Cash (taxable) account for a US resident in the future on a timely basis after your mother passes. TD DI might. I don't know of anyone else. You will incur some costs, notary or otherwise, to open such an account and prove identity. You may have to physically come to Canada to do that.

2. If you do find one, will they want you as a customer for the sole purpose of transferring assets into that account from a full service broker for the sole purpose of selling said assets at $10 each? Actually, you likely won't be able to do online trades. You will likely have to phone in and do $30-40 trades with use of a telephone rep (which is still less* than that of a full service broker). For sure, you won't be allowed to actively trade the account.

My best guess is no discount broker will take you on.

3. After providing the proper paperwork upon death, the trust will be collapsed and may have to have the assets go into the 'same' full service brokerage first, before initiating a transfer via the new discount broker. Not sure about the first part... I think the AET collapses upon death? Beyond my pay grade.

These 3 steps could take 6 months or so to execute even if you could find a discount brokerage. Just a guess.

* You really don't know what the full service broker might negotiate to sell all the assets for purposes of collapsing the trust and distributing the assets to heirs (yourself). That would be the question to ask at the time and then weigh the pros and cons.
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Re: Requesting guidance on cross-border stock inheritance

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Just remember that technically the trust does not form part of the estate. And in theory, the residence of the trust matters, not yours, when it comes to dealing with brokerages in terms of opening accounts for the trust ( see further below)

You will need probate for the portion of assets outside of the trust which I presume would be her house and her bank account and perhaps a car.
This part should be relatively straight forward. Obtain probate, sell house etc.

The trust will be wound up according to the trust deed. How this happens will depend on the wording. The trust appears to be a resident Canadian trust. If you are named as successor trustee and beneficiary, which I assume you are, then your options will depend on the wording in the trust deed.
It may state the trust is to be wound up upon your mothers passing, in which case your options are limited to doing just that.
If it just passes over the trusteeship to you and has you as the ultimate beneficiary at a time of your descretion, then you could have power to have the trust open an account at a discount broker and transfer the trust assets from the existing broker, then sell them and have the trust wound down, taxes paid and funds paid out to yourself.
You would have to prove to the new broker and your old broker that you are now the trustee and signing officer of the trust. This would likely involve a fairly standard letter from a lawyer. The brokerage may or may not be comfortable with your USA residence so this could still be an issue as it could be argued the residence of the trust has changed.

The domicile of a trust ( for tax purposes) is generally based on 3 factors - residence of settlor, residence of trustee and residence of beneficiary. While sometimes a two out of three test is used, the location of the settlor of a trust and/or who controlls the decisions on the trust has most weight. Given your mother is that person, and she lives in BC, the domicile of the trust is currently BC.
However on her death, you become trustee and beneficiary, therefore as an USA resident, it could be argued the residence of the trust has changed.( even though assets remain in Canada). However unless you plan to maintain the trust( if allowed in the trust doc) this will not be an issue, at least as far as taxation goes, if the trust is wound down within a reasonable period. But may be an issue for opening accounts etc.

Taxes for the trust - currently the trust likely has all income paid out to your mother and she declares and pays tax on income. Not sure if this precludes the trust from filing an annual return or not.
On your mothers passing, you may have the option of selling the assets and passing the capital gains out to her estate to pay tax on. ( I dont think this can be passed to her final tax return).
Otherwise the trust would be responsible for filing a return and paying any taxes. Some of this may depend on the trust deed and obviously mostly by tax law regarding trusts and eststes. I have been out of the trust and planning busiess a little too long to be confident in giving any firm advice. I think you will need professional help here but any good CA firm who has done any estate and trust filings should be able to assist. Also trust laws, tax regulations change so the situation may be different when this happens.
Who knows, maybe by then you will be anle to do everything you asked for.

Sorry for rambling, just throwing down thoughts as they occurred to me.

Cheers
J
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