Delean: Life partners generally not responsible for each other’s debts

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Duty for a partner’s money owed and dividend reinvestment plans have been among the many subjects raised not too long ago by readers. Right here’s what they needed to know.

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Q: My fiancé not too long ago purchased a apartment along with his mom for her to stay in. Each are liable for the mortgage. Within the occasion that we divorced, would I’ve any accountability for the mortgage if it isn’t paid off?

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A: François Bernier, director of tax and property planning at Solar Life World Investments in Montreal, mentioned married spouses and common-law companions typically will not be liable for one another’s money owed. It’s a person accountability. They’re collectively accountable, nevertheless, for money owed contracted for the day-to-day wants of the household.

“For those who plan to marry within the close to future, you might need to contemplate being married underneath the matrimonial regime of separation of property,” he mentioned. “That may probably shield your personal property in case of separation, ought to your partner have depleted his personal.”

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A notary can advise you additional on that topic, Bernier mentioned.

Different methods to guard you from a associate’s potential money owed embrace not co-signing any private loans with her or him and retaining a private checking account, limiting a joint account to widespread family bills.

Q: I’m new at stock-market investing and have seen a number of of my shares drop rather a lot this yr. Somebody advised I ought to enrol in a dividend reinvestment plan. Is that a good suggestion when shares are falling?

A: It’s a superb thought when shares are down, offered you might be assured within the long-term prospects of the businesses you maintain and the dividend yield is adequate to allow you to buy not less than one full share of the corporate’s inventory at any time when it makes common dividend funds.

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Dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) permit you to robotically add to your place in small increments with out paying a fee, and also you’ll be shopping for for what might show to be a discount value. For those who’d relatively have the dividends in money than inventory sooner or later, you may decide out of the plan. Both possibility often is a straightforward on-line click on for do-it-yourself traders.

Q: I used to be questioning if my husband and I qualify to get the GST (Items and Companies Tax) credit score. My private earnings is $41,161 and my husband’s is $39,905. We had our earnings tax ready over time by completely different folks and nobody talked about we certified.

A: It wasn’t talked about as a result of, sadly, you don’t. The thresholds for the federal GST credit score in 2022 are internet earnings (from 2021) of $49,166 for a single individual and $52,066 for a pair with no youngsters. The thresholds are larger for fogeys with youngsters underneath 19. The extra you earn, the decrease your quarterly cost, if you happen to qualify. When a pair meets the factors, just one associate will obtain the credit score.

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Q: How lengthy ought to one hold outdated tax returns with receipts?

A: The income departments anticipate you to maintain tax returns and paperwork for not less than six years from the top of the tax yr they relate to. In different phrases, they anticipate you to nonetheless have the tax data from 2015, plus each subsequent yr.

After your 2022 return is processed, you may shred the 2015 paperwork if you want. If the tax companies suspect fraud or misrepresentation, nevertheless, they could need data from farther again. The tax paperwork of a deceased individual will be disposed of by his or her authorized consultant after issuance of a clearance certificates.

The Montreal Gazette invitations reader questions on tax, funding and private finance issues. In case you have a question, please ship it by e mail to Paul Delean at gazpersonalfinance@hotmail.com