In this issue - #170 April 30, 2013

Why did you become a lawyer?

One of the quandaries many people face when making an estate plan is what to do with the family cottage or vacation property. The family cottage is often a beloved family asset – a place where several generations have shared many happy memories – and there is often a strong wish to keep the cottage in the family. The best way to accomplish this is one of the more challenging issues in estate planning. The plan will need to consider income tax and property transfer tax, how ongoing maintenance and upkeep will be funded, who will get to use the property and how decisions will be made, among other things.

If you imagine being in a minor car accident you probably don’t think about getting injured.  Accidents happen all the time and the good news is that in most minor accidents, people don’t get injured.  However, sometimes even small collisions do cause injury.

There are many categories of intellectual property, but the main categories are:

•  Patents (Inventions)
•  Trade-Marks (Brand Names, Trade Names, Trade Dress)
•  Copyright (Expressions)
•  Industrial Designs (Ornamentation)
•  Trade-Secrets (Undisclosed Ideas)
•  Integrated Circuit Topographies (Chip Designs)
•  Plant Breeder’s Rights (New Plant Varieties)

Tax rates are going up, but there is some good news!

The recent BC Government Budget on February 19, 2013 and the Federal Government Budget on March 21, 2013 weren’t particularly pleasant when it comes to tax rates.  The tax rates for dividends are going up substantially and in BC we will have a new higher tax bracket of 45.8% for individuals who earn more than $150,000 per year.

In British Columbia, when a person loses the capacity to manage his or her own affairs, someone can apply to the British Columbia Supreme Court to be appointed committee.

Pushor Mitchell is pleased to announce that partner Blair Forrest has been appointed to the Board of Accelerate Okanagan.

The United Way recently announced their Annual Spirit Award winners which included Pushor Mitchell LLP for the Change Starts Here Award.

From Our Business Law Group – Represented a Canadian mining company in the sale of its interests to a public American mining company.

A US judge whose smartphone disrupted a hearing in his own courtroom has held himself in contempt and paid $US25 for the infraction.