# Hiding money? Help



## Brett (Aug 27, 2012)

My mom is worried about a possible law suit at the office she worked at.. Anyway, my grandmother passed last Nov and my mothers portion of the inheritance is still in that account. She wants to know if the money can be transferred to me in some way so that IF she is sued she will not loose it (roughly 100k) she has been told by someone that the court could charge her with hiding moneys? If there is a lawsuit it will probably be a year or more away...

Any info would be great

Thanks
Brett


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## iherald (Apr 18, 2009)

You can't transfer money to 'hide' it from a lawsuit. It's called fraudulent conveyance. If you 'sell' your house to your kid when you know there could be a lawsuit, it's deemed not to happen and it would be as though your Mom still holds it.


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## Brett (Aug 27, 2012)

Good to know! I realize this is a fraudulent situation....maybe if she leaves it in the inheritance account and doesn't accept it, then it's not technically hers yet is it?
Back story, she was the office manager for a physician found guilty of sexual interference of a minor ( not at the office) the physician is appealing so it will be another 1-2 years before an outcome. She is worried she may loose everything she has, which isn't very much


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

How is your mom's money the physician's property such that it could be seized? How does a criminal charge of your mother's former (?) employer (?) affect these funds?


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## daddybigbucks (Jan 30, 2011)

Brett said:


> Good to know! I realize this is a fraudulent situation....maybe if she leaves it in the inheritance account and doesn't accept it, then it's not technically hers yet is it?
> Back story, she was the office manager for a physician found guilty of sexual interference of a minor ( not at the office) the physician is appealing so it will be another 1-2 years before an outcome. She is worried she may loose everything she has, which isn't very much


why would she be worried? The only way the physician can personally be held accountable is if his practice was sole proprietorship (which i highly doubt being a physician).
the physician insurance would be hit first , then his practice will be hit next, after that, it goes bankrupt. It wouldn't go personal.
I would tell you mom to relax and its not her issue and her money is safe.

my opinion.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Sounds like a really good question for a qualified attorney.


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## Daniel A. (Mar 20, 2011)

It is common in lawsuits to name anyone and everyone due to time limits for filing.

She should speak with a lawyer to access the likely-hood of damages being accessed against her.
Being named and then convincing a judge are very different.

If she is not named and has not had to file financial statements then take the money and park it in an offshore account.

Belize is a good country for that.


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## atrp2biz (Sep 22, 2010)

daddybigbucks said:


> why would she be worried? The only way the physician can personally be held accountable is if his practice was sole proprietorship (which i highly doubt being a physician).
> the physician insurance would be hit first , then his practice will be hit next, after that, it goes bankrupt. *It wouldn't go personal*.
> I would tell you mom to relax and its not her issue and her money is safe.
> 
> my opinion.


Not necessarily true. In Ontario (and I think other provinces), Section 3.4(1) of the Business Corporations Act does not provide for limited "...liability of a shareholder of a professional corporation under an Act governing the profession for acts of the shareholder or acts of employees or agents of the corporation."

In BC, Section 14.1 of the Health Professions Act would prevail.

Having said that, I don't understand the structure of the funds held, so can't really comment beyond unlimited liability.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

I suspect that there is a large difference between transferring money BEFORE a lawsuit, ie gifting her son, and transferring money AFTER a lawsuit has been commenced.

Your mother may want to get her skates on, figure this out quickly or get professional advice, and then act appropriately. 

This is not really one for armchair lawyers. Nor would I be writing about it on any public forum, and most especially NOT on Facebook.


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## Brett (Aug 27, 2012)

I'm not to worried about it here.. FB not a chance!


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## Brett (Aug 27, 2012)

Ok additional Q, how much money can be gifted at one time without paying taxes?


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

As I understand it, one can gift as much as one wants - the receiving person just has to start paying income tax on whatever it earns.

I have seen articles suggesting that if it is a significant amount, there should be a letter documenting it as a gift. That way there is a response if CRA questions how one came by so many assets without it being income.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gifts/
http://www.fbc.ca/knowledge-centre/whats-cras-position-family-gifts
http://www.taxtips.ca/personaltax/giftsandinheritances.htm


Cheers


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Brett: see a lawyer asap and maybe delete your account here and ask CC to remove the thread

Don't ever discuss this on email or using a smart phone


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## Brett (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks, just found some of that myself  
Thanks again !


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

This is where keeping assets in a trust comes in handy.


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## Justin1980 (Feb 23, 2013)

For a quick reply, try justanswer.com they have lawyers around all the time to answer this sort of thng for 20-30$. Just be sure to mention you'd need Ontario based law answers etc....


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## Justin1980 (Feb 23, 2013)

as far as taxes, im not overly knowledgeable in them, but this MIGHT be something to look into:
http://www.taxtips.ca/smallbusiness/capitalgainsdeduction.htm


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

The MD would have liability ins, then his practice, assets would be up next in the event of a lawsuit.

As mentioned above, it is common to list everyone in a suit.

Your mom should consult w an attorney, it sounds as if she would be ok, and I am sure after a consultation her fears will be relieved, as they would have to prove that she was aware of what the physician was doing outside of the office. Which would also be outside of her job duties.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Justin1980 said:


> as far as taxes, im not overly knowledgeable in them, but this MIGHT be something to look into:
> http://www.taxtips.ca/smallbusiness/capitalgainsdeduction.htm


The secondary question was about taxes on money gifted so I'm not sure why you are thinking about an LCGE. 

The link you've posted states that the LCGE is for when one is disposing of (i.e. selling) qualified small business shares, a qualified farm property or a qualified fishing property.

Money being gifted is none of these so it won't apply. 
The links posted up-thread are specifically about gifts, including money gifts.


Cheers


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

From the OP.........the inheritance is still within the estate account, pending distribution.

The executor is legally bound to distribute the money directly to the beneficiary. If the estate is in probate, there will be a paper trail through the courts, of how the proceeds were distributed.

At some point, the inheritance will also show up as an entry in the mother's bank account. Another entry would show the withdrawal of the money. Shuffling the money around won't work, as courts and lawyers are well aware of that practice.

In the event of a judgement against her, the mother would have to provide several years of financial history, to claim an inability to pay the judgement. An inability to pay won't necessarily clear the debt, but would be helpful to avoid the possibility of a future finding of contempt of a court order for refusing to pay the judgement.

Court issued judgements are also not cleared by bankruptcy or consumer proposals.

I don't think we are hearing the full story here, and that is just as well.

But, it is unlikely the plaintiff's lawyer is naming people in the lawsuit without consideration of a reasonable expectation of winning a judgement against them, as anyone named in a lawsuit who is found not to be responsible, would be awarded compensation from the plaintiff for all the legal costs to defend themselves.

The compensation is in place to discourage lawsuits without merit. Damages can also be awarded, but are less likely.

Disclosure.........I am not a lawyer, but I have done a lot or reading and research on the Canadian legal system.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I should also add...........I hope my post doesn't cause too much consternation by the OP.

My advice would be to use the inheritance money to pay for respected legal defense, and when found not responsible, to recover the funds from the plaintiff. If the plaintiff lawyers are aware the defendant has a competent legal team, they may be more inclined to remove a defendant from their list.

Just saying..........


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

My advice is take it to Vegas and buy some chips .Keep them in a safe place


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