The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

t last! You're finally ready A0 "seal-the-deal" on the amily cottage you‘ve dreamed about. At this happy time, it's not easy to consider the time when your "new" cottage will form part of your legacy - but you should. When you die, unless you're passing assets to your spouse, you're deemed to have disposed of all your capital assets at fair market value. If your cottage has appreciat- ed in value, the resulting capital gains tax liability may force your heirs to sell the cottage. These are some of the own- ership structure options you should consider to reduce the tax bite on your estate and your heirs: Principal residence mmptiqn You are able to make a prin- cipal residence capital gains tax exemption claim on either your family's city home or your Vaca- lion property. If you choose to use your city home, the gain on your vacation property will be subject to tax. Ownership structure matters V when you’re buying a cottage t You can lransfer ownership of your vacation property to a trust. WATEkrr)trtmt0NICLE Com+metostthtihtshy! Mercedes Benz Dealer Authorized Specializing In MW P R E I Meticulous Restoration Original Paint Finishes Unsurpassed Collision Repair 15 Centennial th. Kitchener St 9578-2052 FE WW ”YWPW MHEH JAQUAR Future appreciation in the value of the property attributes to the trust capital beneficiaries, not to you. This option allows you to maintain control of the proper- ty now and name an independ- ent third party to manage the property on behalf of the bene, ficiaries after your death. However, a trust may trigger an immediate capital gain and capital gains on property held in trust will also be triggered every 21 years, so this option requires careful consideration. Transfer ownership now RUSS MCEACHNIE Communities in Bloom is here to help. Tell us in 100 words or less why you need help turning your front yard into a place you can enjoy and take pride in. Describe your front garden as it is now, and outline your ideas for what you would like it to become, and why. Do you envision a low, maintenance, pesticide-free garden to he enjoyed by friends and family? A talented landscape designer will work with the winner to design and install a front garden suited to your unique tastes and needs. Don't miss this opportunity" to start the spring seam in on the right foot! This ad gnu-"nuh invited in Instead of leaving property to your children through your will. you can choose to transfer some or all of it to them during your lifetime - through the outright gift of the property with the option of retaining a life interest for yourself or by mak- ing one or more of your children joint owners. Either of these options may also trigger an immediate capi- tal gain but future capital gains on the property will accrue to your children and are not payable until they sell or trans- fer the property. Buy-sell agreement, if one or more children wish to inherit the cottage but insur ficient estate assets would remain (after the payment of estate debts and taxes) to pro- vide for a fair and equitable dis- tribution to the other children, then a buy-sell agreement between you and the children may be the solution. Here, a legal agreement could provide the children who wish to acquire the cottage the right to purchase the cottage from your estate. Life insurance owned and paid for by those children on your life could then be used to Cnndnued on page 27 Send a mcture of your front garden, together with your written descnphon. address. and phone number, to: Waterloo Communmes m Btoom Waterloo City Hall 100 Regma Street South Waterloo ON N2l AM! AO w. Sqt.qttqq6qat -- h In. M, M1. Winners mil be nonfaed be the end ot July Value of makeover from $1000 to $8000. dependmg, on mommy, exmmg landsrape and monmrshcps - A WARM“) CHIONm . Wednesday. June 20. 2tt07 . 23 'o"'i',',",ti,',t,sV ColImtivrtrs in Illn- "I Mn