TFSA in spouse's name?

[droste]

I'm a US Citizen living in Canada. I've avoided a TFSA due to the reporting issues.
I'm in a serious long-term relationship with a Canadian and I imagine marriage is on the horizon. My girlfriend is a full-time student and is not currently investing.
I was wondering if I could give some money to her to invest in a TFSA. It would be purely in her name, and I would trust her to give it back to me should the relationship sour (maybe minus a cut, whatever).

Obviously it should be no problem at all for her to have a TFSA in her name regardless of where the money came from, but is there any conceivable catch to this scenario on my end? Would she have to report the "gift" as income? Am I missing anything? Does it make any difference at all whether or not we are married?

[nelsona]

Gifts to persons otherthan your spouse of over ~11K in a year would be reported to IRS. Otherwise its fine.

[testone]

If she agrees to give it back to you, then it is not a gift to her. Instead she will just be holding the money on your behalf. She will be your agent and you will still need to report the TFSA.

[nelsona]

Lets not get over complicated here.

TFSsa are not that great

[droste]

Why do you say that TFSAs are not that great?
Tax free growth for life, contribution room accumulates, you can take it out at any time without penalty... sounds like a pretty great deal to me. What do you think are the drawbacks? (For a Canadian). I can understand that if money is tight, there might be better choices (RRSP, mortgage, paying off debt, etc.) but wouldn't it be best to take advantage of any tax-free investment that you can?

[nelsona]

Because she isn't your spouse, and your going to ask for it back?!

And because, if you have one, its stil taxable in US.