Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
Participants will learn a structured approach to preparing estate and testamentary trust filings, from engagement setup and technical concepts through distributions, GRE mechanics, and wrap‑up requirements. Participants will apply the rules to practical case studies to manage risk, coordinate filings, and communicate choices clearly with executors and beneficiaries.
Topics Include:
- Engagement management and preliminary considerations (personal representative, joint ownership, scoping, letters).
- General trust concepts for testamentary trusts: residency, taxation year, income, distributions, preferred beneficiary election, 21‑year rule, and filings.
- Death of a taxpayer: deemed dispositions, tax cost to the estate, capital losses, and related mechanics.
- The estate of the deceased: GRE definition, designation, benefits, and charitable‑gift treatment.
- Distributions of testamentary trusts: spousal/QDT considerations, tainting/untainting, and principal residence touchpoints.
- Inter‑vivos life‑interest trusts affected by death (AET/JPT) and related charitable‑gift considerations.
- Other compliance: payment of tax, clearance certificates, taxpayer relief, VDP, executor/trustee fees.
- Estate accounting fundamentals and GST/HST considerations.
- Case studies to reinforce end‑to‑end preparation and decision‑making.
NOTE: This course description has been revised and reflects updates for 2026. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.
The CPA Ontario Tax Immersion Program
Schedule
- September 24, 2026, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- September 25, 2026, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Establish a plan and workflow for estate and testamentary trust assignments, including engagement management and documentation.
- Explain core testamentary trust concepts (residency, year‑end, income/distributions, elections) and their impact on filings.
- Identify compliance considerations arising at death, including deemed dispositions, GRE designation/benefits, and charitable‑giving mechanics.
- Prepare and review distributions (e.g., spousal and qualified disability trusts), related elections, and common designations.
- Address clearance certificates, relief programs, executor/trustee compensation, estate accounting, and high‑level GST/HST touchpoints.
Who Will Benefit
This course will benefit:
- Practitioners expanding their personal‑tax skill set to include estate and testamentary trust returns.
- Professionals who support executors, trustees, and beneficiaries and need a practical, filing‑focused framework.
Prerequisite(s)
- Knowledge of Canadian personal tax and experience preparing T3 trust returns (recommended).
- RIP: Terminal Filing may be taken for deeper context (recommended).
How to Access the Course
This course is delivered as a live webinar. To receive verifiable CPD hours, you must attend the session live. We recommend joining at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. For the best interactive experience, please use a computer equipped with a camera and microphone.
A reminder email with the Zoom link and course details will be sent two business days before the session. If you do not receive it, please check your spam or junk folder.
The same information, including any available materials, will also be posted in advance on our Blackboard LMS.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Karen Wilkinson, FCPA, FCA is President of Karen Wilkinson Professional Corporation. She was previously a Tax Partner with Deloitte LLP with over 25 years of tax experience. Karen's practice is focused on assisting private companies and their owners in maximizing wealth and transitioning the business to the next generation. While at Deloitte LLP, Karen was the Chief Learning Officer for the Canadian tax practice for 9 years. She has been involved in the delivery of all aspects of the CPA Canada In-depth tax program and is a former lecturer for the CPA Canada Income Tax for the General Practitioner course. Karen graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Master of Accounting degree. Karen has been very involved in the community over the years currently serving as a member of the Board of the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Association and the Treasurer at Orchestras Canada. Prior community involvement has included the Board of Governors at the University of Waterloo and United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries.