Estate Planning
Everything you need to know about estate planning in Ontario — in plain English.
Beneficiary Designations Explained
How beneficiary designations work on RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and life insurance in Canada, why they can override your will, and how to keep them current.
Charitable Giving and Legacy Planning in Canada
How Canadians weave charitable giving into an estate plan, from bequests and gifts of securities to donor-advised funds and insurance, with the tax benefits.
Digital Assets and Estate Planning in Canada
How to include online accounts, passwords, and cryptocurrency in your estate plan so executors and heirs can actually find and access what you leave behind.
Estate Administration Tax in Ontario Explained
How Ontario's Estate Administration Tax (probate tax) is calculated, which assets count, what executors must file, and lawful ways to reduce exposure.
Estate Freeze Explained for Business Owners
What an estate freeze is, how it works for incorporated business owners, and the tax and family considerations in passing future growth to your heirs.
Estate Planning for Business Owners in Canada
How incorporated Canadian business owners coordinate corporate structure with personal estate planning to protect the business and minimise tax on death.
Estate Planning for Blended Families in Canada
How blended families can structure a will and estate plan that provides for a current spouse and children from prior relationships fairly, and avoids conflict.
Estate Planning Checklist for Ontario Families
A practical Ontario estate planning checklist covering wills, powers of attorney, beneficiaries, probate, and the decisions every family's plan needs.
Executor Duties in Ontario: What the Job Actually Involves
A clear walkthrough of an Ontario executor's legal duties, from securing assets to applying for probate, filing final tax returns and distributing the estate.
The Graduated Rate Estate and Its Tax Benefits
What a graduated rate estate is, how it's taxed in Canada, and why the timing of estate administration matters for the tax planning available after death.
Gifting Money to Children in Canada: What to Consider
Tax and practical considerations for gifting money to adult or minor children in Canada, from attribution rules and probate to protecting family harmony.
Henson Trusts: Protecting a Disabled Beneficiary's Benefits
How a Henson trust lets Canadians leave an inheritance to a disabled beneficiary without affecting their provincial disability benefits, such as Ontario's ODSP.
How to Choose an Executor for Your Will
What to look for when choosing an executor in Canada, the common mistakes that cause problems, and how to support the person you name for the role.
How to Minimize Probate Fees in Ontario
Legitimate ways to reduce Ontario probate fees (estate administration tax), from beneficiary designations to multiple wills, and the costly traps to avoid.
Intergenerational Wealth Transfer: Preparing Heirs for What's Coming
What Canadian families should know about the coming intergenerational wealth transfer and how to prepare heirs to receive and steward it well.
Using Life Insurance in Estate Planning
How Canadians use life insurance to fund the tax bill at death, replace lost value, and equalize an estate fairly among heirs, with the tax and planning basics.
Multiple Wills in Ontario: A Secondary Will for Company Shares
How Ontario business owners use a secondary will to reduce probate on private company shares and simplify estate administration, and when the strategy fits.
Passing On a Family Business: Succession and Tax Planning
How Canadian business owners plan the succession and tax treatment of transferring a family business to the next generation or an outside buyer.
Power of Attorney in Ontario: Property and Personal Care
How powers of attorney for property and personal care work in Ontario, who to name, how they take effect, and why every adult needs both, not just a will.
Passing On the Family Cottage: The Tax Problem and Your Options
Why transferring a family cottage in Canada can trigger capital gains tax, and the main strategies families use to plan for the eventual tax bill.
Testamentary Trust vs. Living Trust: What's the Difference?
Testamentary trusts and living trusts compared side by side: how each is created, taxed, and used in Canadian estate planning, and which suits your goals.
Trusts Explained: What They Are and Do in Canada
A plain-English guide to how trusts work in Canada: the roles of settlor, trustee and beneficiary, common uses, and the tax basics families should know.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Ontario
How Ontario's intestacy rules divide an estate when there is no will, who inherits, and why dying intestate is slower, costlier, and less fair than expected.
Making a Valid Will in Ontario: A Practical Guide
What makes a will valid in Ontario, what it should cover, and the common mistakes that lead to disputes or a will being challenged after death.
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