Article
Trusts: A Powerful but Often Misunderstood (and Sometimes Misused) Planning Tool (Part 2)
October 30, 2026
Trusts play an important role in Canadian tax, estate, continuity and succession planning, offering flexibility in how assets, income and capital gains are managed and allocated. While trusts can provide significant planning benefits, they are subject to complex tax rules and family law considerations that can affect how they are structured and used.
In Part 2 of a four-part series published by Family Enterprise Canada, Michael Goldberg examines the tax and family law framework that shapes trust planning in Canada. He explores capital gains and deemed dispositions, the lifetime capital gains exemption, the taxation of trusts and the 21-year rule, as well as family law considerations that can affect trust beneficiaries, highlighting both the opportunities and limitations of using trusts in estate, succession and continuity planning.
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