When TFSA’s were first introduced, most banks interpreted the process as
assets in a TFSA would pass to as survivor under the term “beneficiary”.
Only later , did the tax implications become evident wherein there was a
negative tax implication to the survivor when they were designated as
beneficiary.
The attached article highlights the need to have the survivor
designated as a “successor holder’ in order to negate the tax implications
of a TFSA assets being transferred to a survivor upon the death of the
holder / owner of the TFSA. It is a good article and one that highlights the
tax trap than can occur without successor designation between spouses. It
is a simple form to complete and sign and can be done at you bank, but both
should be present to complete the signature requirement.
Many people are unaware of the issues and it is a simple thing
to correct and one that can same much time, effort and complications with
tax and contribution levels of the survivor. There is also a time frame
wherein the transfer needs to be completed after the death of the holder /
owner. The article is attached in case you were not aware of the importance
of the successor designation on TFSA’s.

Click here for the article