In his terminal return for his 2009 year, the taxpayer reported RRSP income of $256, 829 in respect of an RRSP for which his children were the heirs. Following litigation between his surviving spouse (Ms. DeMarsh) and those children, a consent judgment issued by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on May 13, 2011 provided that the children would transfer all interests they had in such RRSPs to Ms. DeMarsh.
In rejecting the appellant's submission that the consent order had the effect of confirming that the RRSPs had vested in Ms. DeMarsh on the deceased's death, V. Miller J noted that the order did not change the beneficiaries, and was not intended to be a rectification order and also noted that the stipulation that the children would transfer their interests in the RRSPS to Ms. DeMarsh implied that they accepted the gift of the RRSPs rather than disclaiming it. Accordingly, the RRSP proceeds were includible in the deceased's income under ss. 146(8.8) and (8).
She stated, at para. 33, that the effect of a disclaimer (being "a refusal to accept an interest which has been bequeathed to a disclaiming party") is "to void the gift as if the disclaiming party never received it."