By Frank Shostack ( November 15, 2021, 8:27 AM EST) -- The concept of an estate freeze has been the subject of considerable commentary for about 50 years, going back to when Canada started taxing capital gains. An estate freeze is a transaction in which the owner of an asset crystallizes and fixes the value of that asset under an arrangement that permits other persons (usually family members) to benefit from future increases in the value of that asset. Apart from passing on entitlement to future growth, the person effecting the freeze (referred to in this article as the “freezor”) can determine his or her liability for capital gains tax to be paid on death and to plan how to fund the payment of such tax....