Estate and Trust Services

Coping with the death of a family member can be difficult, and responsibilities for the executor or administrator can seem overwhelming. We at Colin Phillips, CPA Professional Corporation, can help by providing guidance to Trustees and ensuring all of the statutory reporting requirements are taken care of. Some of the services we offer for estates and trusts include:

• Preparing and Filing the Tax Return: We will help ensure all tax-saving measures are explored and all reporting requirements are fulfilled. In the year of death, there are often three or more tax returns that can be filed to benefit from tax-saving measures. We can help properly allocate the income among each of these tax returns;
• Financial Planning: Testamentary trusts have a 36 month time period to benefit from reduced tax rates as a Graduated Rate Estate (GRE). This provides a small window of opportunity that should be taken advantage of by all trusts that qualify. Financial planning prior to death can also help reduce the often large tax bill at the end;
• Making Distributions Out of the Estate: Depending on the nature of the distributions out of an estate, you may be required to file income tax information slips with CRA, which we can prepare. These slips would also be required to be sent out to those receiving the distributions.