Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

Preparing for life after work. RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, annuities and meeting future financial and psychological needs.
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AltaRed
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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Just have the lawyer include all variations of your name on the Will, e.g. also known as C and also known as D. The lawyer drawing up the Will can identify which shouuld be the primary name.

Your assets can be moved from account to account to account as you see fit. Just keep a paper trail record for any CRA queries should that ever happen (unlikely).

P.S. Assigning attribution of income on investment income to a lower income spouse but I believe it has to be the result of a spousal loan. It just doesn't happen automatically. IMO, that is like fretting over 3 decimal places. Think about it... you have $1000 investment. Income might be a 4% diividend ($25). Are you really going to keep track of that dividend so that a further 4% on that dividend ($1) is useful to 'split income'? Granted the compounding effect over decades will have some definite future value but really.... do you want all the paperwork associated with $1 on $1000? My head hurts thinking about it.
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kcowan
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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Would it not be easier to gift a small amount of capital to the spouse? I agree with AR. It should be a loan to be copacetic.
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Wing
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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I would suggest telling them they need to get their act together as you are doing this for primarily tax purposes (simplicity in tax reporting and filing). I'd tell them I'd go elsewhere if they don't accommodate you. It is perfectly legit to have 2 JTWROS accounts as described. Her SIN is associated with one JTWROS account (hers) and your SIN is associated with your JTWROS account
The bank manager insisted two SINs must be on the joint account and that the interest income will be taxable 50/50 by my wife and I. Instead of fighting this uphill battle, my wife and I have decided to open just 1 joint account and go somewhere else for the second one. At least that prevents the possibility of messed up tax slips come early next year.
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AltaRed
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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Wing wrote: 22 May 2017 11:33
I would suggest telling them they need to get their act together as you are doing this for primarily tax purposes (simplicity in tax reporting and filing). I'd tell them I'd go elsewhere if they don't accommodate you. It is perfectly legit to have 2 JTWROS accounts as described. Her SIN is associated with one JTWROS account (hers) and your SIN is associated with your JTWROS account
The bank manager insisted two SINs must be on the joint account and that the interest income will be taxable 50/50 by my wife and I. Instead of fighting this uphill battle, my wife and I have decided to open just 1 joint account and go somewhere else for the second one. At least that prevents the possibility of messed up tax slips come early next year.
I can assure you the bank manager is wrong. They can insist on both SINs to be associated with the account for money laundering/CRA reasons but there is room for only one SIN on a T5 tax slip. Make sure the bank knows it is the 'primary' account owner's SIN (every joint account has one primary owner). The bank manager cannot dictate what percentage of the income is attributable to you or your spouse at the time of issuance of the T5 tax slip so the bank manager is 100% wrong on saying the income is 50/50 taxable. For example, on eveyone's Schedule 4 on a T1 General tax return, there is a box where one inserts the percentage attributable to the taxpayer. That is a decision the taxpayer makes, not some dumbass financial institution.
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Wing
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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Wing wrote: 22 May 2017 11:33
I would suggest telling them they need to get their act together as you are doing this for primarily tax purposes (simplicity in tax reporting and filing). I'd tell them I'd go elsewhere if they don't accommodate you. It is perfectly legit to have 2 JTWROS accounts as described. Her SIN is associated with one JTWROS account (hers) and your SIN is associated with your JTWROS account
The bank manager insisted two SINs must be on the joint account and that the interest income will be taxable 50/50 by my wife and I. Instead of fighting this uphill battle, my wife and I have decided to open just 1 joint account and go somewhere else for the second one. At least that prevents the possibility of messed up tax slips come early next year.
Having been to a few banks and inquiring about brokerage/savings accounts with their financial advisors/managers, sometimes it's almost hard to tell if they are real dumb or just pretend to be. Somehow the hidden message behind everything I was told is to have as few accounts as possible (hence, less maintenance), better to buy mutual funds than managing a brokerage account on my own. Worse, being told false information.

In the good old days, one can open any account easily and so welcomed. Now, all new accounts opening need to go through those advisors and being sold on the bank's products. Services level begins to go downhill once they know you're not the targeted customers they want whom they can earn big commissions from. It's sad.
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AltaRed
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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For DIY investing especially for brokerage accounts, you do not go to the banks. You open the accounts online.

As far as savings go, most of these can be opened online though you will have to mail in information OR just accept the appointment with that nice person at the bank and simply insist on opening a savings account. It is not difficult to say no to the other crap. I've never been unduly harassed when I say....all I want to do is open a savings account. Don't push other products on me.....
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Re: Estate Planning... POA or must be Will?

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I don't know what it is like now, but in 2005, we took MIL into a TD Waterhouse branch and they did exactly what we wanted. They politely asked if she needed help and we replied that we were helping her so got trading authority.

(One thing she insisted on was $10000 in her chequing account. I emphasized that I could transfer any amount needed on a day's notice but no dice!)
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