When people find out that I specialize in estate planning, they often ask whether everyone needs a Will and Powers of Attorney. My answer is always a resounding ‘yes’.
Wikipedia describes ‘estate planning’ as the “process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of an estate during your life. [It] typically attempts to eliminate uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximize the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses.”
Not long ago, I met with Ralph at my law office in Stittsville near Ottawa. Ralph had recently lost his mother. In her Will she had named Ralph as the executor and he wanted to discuss his duties and responsibilities. Among the many things we talked about was how to access his mother’s cash and pay her bills.
Before the holidays, I met with a woman who had lost her husband to cancer in the fall. I’ll call her Joan. She needed some information regarding his estate and her duties as executor. Most of their assets were held jointly or Joan had been named as beneficiary. So settling his estate was fairly simple. However, there were still a few things to care of. One was the title to their home.
Publication: Parent-Child Guide Book, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville
Volume 15 Number 2 Winter 2013
Household goods can hold tremendous sentimental value as well as monetary value. It is important that they are properly dealt with. I recently met with Charles (not his real name) at my law office in Stittsville near Ottawa. His elderly sister had died while visiting him in Stittsville. Charles knew that she never signed a Will. She was single and never had any children. Charles also had a brother who was estranged from the family and had been for quite some time. There were no other living relatives. Charles’ sister lived alone in a house in the west end of Ottawa.
Charles understood that, if his brother agreed, he could apply to court to be appointed the estate trustee without a Will (executor). Until that happened, Charles had a couple of questions about the contents of his sister’s house:
“Do I need to take inventory of the contents of the home and have these items appraised for the purpose of providing a value for the court application?”
At my law office in Stittsville (Ottawa), the executors I meet with often have questions about how to deal with advancements or loans given by the deceased during his or her lifetime.
Here is an example:
An executor is preparing to distribute an estate totally $850,000 after debts and liabilities are paid. The deceased, Bernice, had three daughters who, according to Bernice’s Will, are to share the estate equally. However, her Will included a clause confirming that Bernice had advanced $50,000 to one daughter during her lifetime and that this amount was to be deducted from the daughter’s share of Bernice’s estate.
How does the executor calculate what each daughter is to receive?
Many couples think that owning everything jointly and naming each other as beneficiaries of RRSPs, TFSAs, and life insurance means they don’t need Wills. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case.
If your spouse dies without a Will, you could be faced with some significant challenges. This could be even more challenging if you have children.
The possible breakdown of a child’s marriage is a concern for many parents when doing their estate planning. I recently met with Ethel (not her real name) in my law office in Stittsville near Ottawa. While discussing her estate planning, Ethel confided that she was concerned her daughter’s marriage might be on rocky ground. In particular, she wondered if her daughter would have to give half of what she receives from Ethel’s estate to her husband in the event their marriage breaks down.
I recently met with Shawn and Andrea at my law office in Stittsville near Ottawa. They had recently moved some assets around and had changed some beneficiary designations. With two young children, they wanted to make sure that what they had done made sense.
One question that Shawn and Andrea had in particular – and it is one that many parents have – is whether it is O.K. to name a trustee as a beneficiary of life insurance, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, to hold the proceeds ‘in trust for’ someone who is under the age of 18? They had been told by their advisor to name a sibling to hold the proceeds in trust for their children.
Phil and Judy (not their real names) recently come to our law office in Stittsville (Ottawa) to discuss their estate planning. They have three grown children and had been told by some friends that they could include trusts in their Wills to benefit their adult children. That’s what their friends had done. But Phil wondered if this was still a good idea. He had recently heard that the tax laws relating to trusts might be changing.
