Family trust
Discover the benefits of creating a discretionary family trust
The tax lawyers at Éthier Avocats have a proven track record for creating discretionary family trusts. This structure, developed by and for a given family and its members, helps corporate executives protect their personal assets and family wealth. Under a discretionary family trust, you can transfer ownership of key assets (investment portfolios, shares in a family-owned business, rental properties, principal residence, etc.) and allocate the resulting income to the beneficiaries indicated in the incorporating documents.
There are several benefits to a discretionary family trust:
- It offers the possibility of distributing revenues to different beneficiaries, which can be advantageous from a taxation perspective;
- It reduces taxes due upon death, as the deceased’s assets will have already been transferred to the trust;
- It makes full use of the capital gains exemptions applicable to each beneficiary (up to $800,000 per person);
- It shields personal assets held by the trust from business debts and liabilities;
Lastly, for company owners, discretionary family trusts can be a flexible and useful way to transfer assets to beneficiaries and provide them with a maximum of benefits and options.
The expertise of the team at Éthier Avocats can be extremely helpful when creating a discretionary trust to ensure compliance with certain rules and to develop a structure that will suit your needs and help you achieve your goals.