There are three major areas within the areas of Wills and Estate services, which include Wills and Estate planning, Estate Administration and Estate Litigation. 

Wills and Estate Planning – Wills and Estate Lawyer Services

Estate planning includes drafting Wills, Power of Attorneys, Trusts and other documents that will take care of your family and loved ones after your death. Without a Will your assets may not end up being distributed to the people you had wished for as you will have been deemed to have died intestate, which is just a fancy word for dying without a Will. 

Dying Intestate (Dying without a Will)

When you die without a Will in Ontario your estate will be distributed according to the Ontario Succession Law Reform Act. You will no longer have an opportunity to determine your beneficiaries, nor will you have an opportunity to elect your executors and/or trustees. In addition, you could end up paying more estate taxes if you don’t prepare a Will as an effective Estate plan will help reduce your tax liability.  

Appointing an Executor

One of the important components of your Will is to appoint a person to be the executor of your estate. The executor will be responsible for securing the assets of your estate, paying your debts and taxes, and dividing what remains of your estate among the beneficiaries. It is also important to appoint an alternate executor in case your first appointed executor predeceases you or is unable to act.

Appointing a Trustee

If your Will also creates a Trust then you will need to appoint a Trustee that will be responsible to ensure the Trust is managed and distributed according to your wishes for the intended beneficiary who is often a minor or someone incapable of making such decisions on their own. The Trustee can be the same person as the executor but does not have to be. When deciding on a Trustee keep in mind that managing the Trust can take years and as such you will want to select someone that will have the capacity to do so for many years after the Testator has passed.

Naming Beneficiaries

A Will allows you to decide who you would like to benefit from your estate and in what proportions. In most cases, beneficiaries will be your spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends or charities. 

Trusts

Trusts can be used as an effective tool to reduce probate taxes, legal fees and maintain privacy over your estate as you will be able to transfer your estate to your beneficiaries without the need to apply for probate. 

There are many forms of trusts including, Family Trusts, Life Insurance Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, Alter Ego Trusts, Inter-Vivos Trusts and many others.

Some of the benefits of devising trusts include reducing income taxes by splitting income with your family members who are in a lower tax bracket, funding children’s education, providing for a family member’s special needs or as part of an “estate freeze” to minimize capital gains tax on death using a corporation. 

Probate – Estate Administration

Probate is the process of applying to court to confirm the validity of a Will and confirming the appointment of the estate trustee (executor). You can think of probate as the process of having your Will reviewed and certified by the court. Once you receive your probate certificate also known as the certificate of appointment of estate trustee as the executor you can now commence distributing the estate to the beneficiaries. 

Another important responsibility of the executor is to file the estate taxes on behalf of the estate.