The court considered whether a United States gift tax liability arising from a 2009 transfer of Florida property by the deceased, Carolyn Alexander, was a just debt of her Ontario estate.
The applicant, Carrie Lynn Dyjack, sought the court’s direction after paying the tax and related expenses personally.
The court found that the U.S. Gift Tax was a proper liability of the estate, rejecting the respondent’s arguments that the tax was not intended to be paid from the estate, that it was a “charge” payable by the beneficiary under the Succession Law Reform Act, or that it was unenforceable in Canada.
The court ordered the estate to reimburse the applicant for the tax and related expenses.
