Nicholas P. Smith

Nick Smith is a founding principal with Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers in Vancouver, a boutique law
firm specializing in tax, trust and estate planning and related litigation. For over 30 years, Nick’s
practice has focused on Federal, Provincial and international tax and estate planning, with an
emphasis on owner manager corporate reorganizations, tax structuring of purchases and sales of
businesses, business succession and working with trusts, estates and tax-planned wills. He also has
particular expertise dealing with the 21 year deemed disposition rule applicable to most trusts. Nick
has extensive experience representing individuals, corporations and trusts involved in tax disputes
with Canada Revenue Agency and the Province of British Columbia. He was called to the British
Columbia Bar in 1989 and is a frequent author and lecturer for a variety of professional organizations.
Nick was an Adjunct Professor at Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British
Columbia, teaching Taxation of Trusts and Estates for the LLM in Taxation program, until his
retirement from teaching in 2017. He has been qualified by the British Columbia Supreme Court on
multiple occasions as an expert in Canadian taxation. He has also been qualified as an expert in
Canadian taxation by the United States Tax Court (Dynamo Holdings Ltd. P’ship v. Comm’r, T.C.
Memo. 2018-61 (U.S.T.C. May. 7, 2018)) and recently testified as an expert witness in the case of
PDB Sports Ltd. and Bowlen Sports, Inc. v. ROFR Holdings Ltd, Ltd., et al., Case No. 2021CV30285
(D. Colo. 2022). He has been selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in Canada (Tax Law)
and Lexpert. Nick was named “Lawyer of the Year” for 2023 by Best Lawyers for Tax Law in
Vancouver.

Nick was selected as one of the world’s leading practitioners in the peer nominated Global Directory
of Who’s Who Legal: Private Client 2023 report.

Nick obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University in Montreal (graduating with
Great Distinction). He obtained his law degree from the University of British Columbia. He
completed the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants 3 year In-Depth Tax Course in 1994.

The following is a list of Nick’s lectures and professional publications:

2023
Cidel Provence Conference – September 2023
Topic: Thorny Trust Issues/Trust Rehab
CLE Publication in Family Law
Chapter – Tax Aspects of Division of Assets – Co-Author: Nicholas P. Smith
Pacific Business & Law Institute Conference – June 28, 2023
Conference Co-Chair: Trusts 2023
Associate Producer of feature length Canadian independent movie “Mr. Sandman” (to be released)

2022
Pacific Business & Law Institute Conference – June 2, 2022
Conference Chair: Trusts 2022
Topic: Estate and Charitable Gift Planning
STEP Presentation – May 26, 2022
Topic: Transition of the Family Business

2021
Cidel Provence Conference – October 2021
Topic: Principal Residence Exemption Planning

2019
Cidel Provence Conference – September 2019
Topic: BC’s Changes to Privacy

2019
Pacific Business & Law Institute – February 5, 2019
Topic: Acquisitions of Control and Effective Use of Corporate Losses

2018
Cidel Provence Conference – September 2018
Topic: Estate Freezes 2018 and Beyond – A Case Study

2018
Pacific Business & Law Institute – June 6, 2018
Topic: Planning for Death Using Trusts – A Case Study

2017
Cidel Provence Conference – September 2017
Topic: Tax Issues with Changing Beneficiaries and Trustees of Trusts

2016
Pacific Business & Law Institute – June 15, 2016
Trusts: Using Trusts Effectively
Conference Chair

2016
Pacific Business & Law Institute – February 4, 2016
Corporate Reorganizations: Tax Compliance and Avoidance
Topic: Transfer to the Corporation: Section 85 Rollovers

2016
STEP Year in Review – January 21, 2016

2015
Pacific Business & Law Institute – June 9, 2015
Trusts: Planning For Success
Conference Chair

2014
Pacific Business & Law Institute – November 6, 2014
Planning for Clients with Assets and Beneficiaries in Multiple Jurisdictions
Topic: Select Canadian Tax Considerations

2014
Canadian Tax Foundation –September 29 – 30, 2014

2014 British Columbia Tax Conference
Topic: Death of a Taxpayer: Post Mortem Planning

2014
Pacific Business & Law Institute – June 10, 2014 (Conference Chair)
Trusts: Beyond the Basics
Topic: Wild and Weird New Developments in the World of Trusts

2014
Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia – May 14, 2014
Tax Issues for Commercial Practitioners
Topic: Common Practice Issues (Roundtable Forum)

2013
Pacific Business & Law Institute – December 3, 2013
Tax Effects of Business Combinations
Topic: Acquisition of Control and Effective Use of Corporate Losses

2013
Pacific Business & Law Institute – June 18th, 2013
Trusts: Challenging Issues and Emerging Planning Techniques
Conference Chair

2013
Federated Press – March 7 – 8, 2013
13th Annual Tax Planning for the Wealthy
Topic: The Use of Trusts in Estate Planning

2012
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia – October 19, 2012
Trusts: The Multi-Faceted Estate Planning Tool
Topic: 21 Year Rule Planning

2012
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia – September 21, 2012
Gearing up your Practice: The New Family Law Act
Topic: Trusts

2012
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia – February 21, 2012
Closely Held Corporations – Tax Issues for Commercial Practitioners
Topic: Common Practice Issues

2012
Pacific Business & Law Institute – February 7 & 8, 2012
Tax and Estate Planning for the Family Business: The Advanced Issues
Topic: Selling the Business Outside the Family: Primary Tax Considerations

2011
Canadian Bar Association of British Columbia – November 18 – 20, 2011
Sixth Annual Branch Conference – Las Vegas, Nevada
Topic: Tax Issues for Solicitors
What every solicitor should know: Key steps to structuring businesses, effective use of trusts and
most common tax-related mistakes made by solicitors and how to avoid them

2011
Pacific Business & Law Institute – June 9, 2011
Trusts: The Thorny Issues
Topic: Tax Issues Arising From Variations of Trusts

2011
Federated Press – March 22 – 23, 2011
9th Annual Tax Planning for the Wealthy Family
Topic: Owner-Manager Tax Planning

2011
Pacific Business & Law Institute – February 10, 2011
Tax and Legal Issues for the Family Business
Topic: Tax Considerations When Selling the Business Outside of the Family

2011
Continuing Legal Education Society of BC – February 4, 2011
Tax Fundamentals for the Estate Practitioner
Topic: Taxation of Personal Trusts

2010
Federated Press – June 15 & 16, 2010
7th Annual Tax Planning for the Wealthy Family Course
Topic: Owner-Manager Tax Planning

2009
Pacific Business & Law Institute, June 16, 2009
Trusts: Current Issues
Topic: Is the 21 Year Deemed Realization Really So Bad?

2009
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners – May 29, 2009
Topic: Tax Planning for a Disabled Individual

2009
Federated Press – February 25 & 26, 2009
4th Annual Tax Planning for the Wealthy Family Course
Topic: Owner-Manager Tax Planning

2008
Pacific Business & Law Institute, October 15, 2008
Advanced Estate Planning: Answering Your Most Vexing Questions
Topic: Creative Solutions To Various Tax And Estate Planning Problems In Relation To Canadian Resident Trusts

2008
Canadian Tax Foundation, September 16, 2008
British Columbia Tax Conference
Life Cycle of an Estate Plan
Topic: Miscellaneous Corporate and Trust Reorganization Scenarios for Mature Businesses/Trust
Assets

2008
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, June 27, 2008
Out of the Ordinary Problems in Ordinary Estates
Post-mortem Tax Issues: Clearance Certificates,
Post-mortem Tax Planning and Limitation Periods

2007
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
CLE Practice Manual – Advising British Columbia Businesses
Chapter 14 – Estate Planning for Private Businesses – Authored by Nicholas P. Smith – The Manual
received First Place Award for Professional Excellence in the Publications category from the
International Association ACLEA

2007
Pacific Business & Law Institute, February 28, 2007
Estate Freezes: The Complete Course
Topic: New Dividend Taxation Rules in Relation to Estate Freezes

2006
Canadian Tax Foundation – September 11 & 12, 2006
British Columbia Tax Conference
Topic: Legislative and Administrative Developments

2006 (Updated)
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
British Columbia Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation Handbook
Chapter: Private Business Succession

2006
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
CLE Practice Manual – Advising British Columbia Businesses
Chapter 14 – Estate Planning for Private Businesses

2005
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia – November 3, 2005
Trusts: An In-Depth Review
Topic: Taxation of Trusts

2005
Pacific Business & Law Institute, June 8, 2005
Estate Planning: The Fundamentals
Topic: Estate Freeze Basics

2004
Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring
Professionals Continuing Education Forum, May 6, 2004
Topic: Income Tax Issues

2002
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Wills, Estates and Trusts Conference
Topic: Business Succession: Family Dynamics and
Finance – A Deadly Cocktail

2001
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Wills, Estates, and Trusts: Selected Topics
Topic: Alter Ego and Joint Partner Trusts

2001
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Estate Litigation – 2001 Update
Topic: Income Tax Issues for Estate Litigators

2001
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
Topic: Post-Mortem Remedial Tax Planning

2000
Lorman Education Services
Not for Profit Organizations
Topic: Tax-Planned Charitable Gifting – Opportunities and Hurdles

2000
Insight Conferences
Wealth Management and Estate Planning
Topic: Private Foundations and Tax Planned Charitable Giving

1999
Pacific Business & Law Institute
The Essentials of Estate Planning
Topic: Charitable Vehicles

1999
Pacific Business & Law Institute
Working with the New Trust Rules –
Planning Opportunities for Family Trusts and Offshore Trusts
Topic: The Tax on Split Income

1999
Pacific Business & Law Institute
Charities Conference
The Best of Times, The Worst of Times
Topic: Tax Shelters Involving Charities

1998
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Wills Estates and Trusts Conference
Topic: Post Mortem Remedial Tax Planning

1998
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia – Conference Chair
Tax Planned Charitable Giving and Tax for Charities

1998
The National Family Law Program
Topic: Tax Issues in the Division of Corporate Interests upon Marital Breakdown

1997
Pacific Business and Law Institute
Trusts – For the Sophisticated Client
Topic: Tax Planning Using Trusts

1996
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Tax Aspects of Buying and Selling a Business
Topic: Tax Due Diligence Issues in the Purchase of a Business

1996
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Operating and Advising Charities and Not-for-Profits
Topic: Selected Income Tax Issues for Registered Charities

1996
Pacific Business and Law Institute
Charities: Finding Solutions to the Funding Crisis
Topic: Tax Traps and Tax Compliance Issues for Registered Charities

1993
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Tax for the Non-Specialist
Topic: Estate Planning (co-author)