Calmusky revisited

This Tax Byte discusses a recent Ontario Supreme Court decision – Kunka Estate v. Giasson – which confirmed that beneficiary designations on registered plans (such as TFSAs and RRIFs) are testamentary dispositions not subject to the presumption of a resulting trust. The Court rejected the controversial 2020 Calmusky v. Calmusky ruling which had sent tremors through the insurance and estate planning community in Ontario. The publication concludes with CALU’s advice to advisors in dealing with matters involving the presumption of resulting trust, and an alternate way to provide certainty for estate planners and their clients.