Estate planning is one of the most consequential components of a comprehensive financial plan. Despite this, many families delay the process or avoid it entirely. That delay carries real risk.<\/p>\n
This article outlines the core documents, the decisions they require, and the questions that come up most often.<\/p>\n
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Why this conversation cannot wait<\/strong><\/p>\n A well-structured estate plan is not only about transferring assets after death. It is a control mechanism. It determines who acts on your behalf, under what conditions, and within what boundaries, while you are alive and after you are gone.<\/p>\n Without a plan in place, those decisions default to provincial legislation. The legislation is generic. It was not written with your specific assets, family structure, or intentions in mind. It does not account for the complexity that comes with wealth, multiple beneficiaries, or blended families.<\/p>\n The two questions every estate plan must answer are:<\/p>\n When these questions are answered clearly and documented properly, the result is less ambiguity, fewer disputes, and lower costs for the people you leave behind.<\/p>\n The two core documents<\/strong><\/p>\n Estate planning rests on two foundational documents. Each serves a distinct function, and both are necessary.<\/p>\n Document 1: Your will<\/strong><\/p>\n A will is a legal document that takes effect at death. It has two structural components:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A will gives you authorship over a process that will happen regardless. Without one, the province writes that outcome for you. The provincial default rules may conflict with your wishes, delay the process by months or years, and impose unnecessary costs on your estate.<\/p>\n There is a harder point worth making directly: many people assume their assets will pass automatically to the right people. In many cases, they will not. Jointly held assets and named beneficiaries on registered accounts flow outside the will. Non-registered assets, real property held in your name alone, and business interests are all governed by the will. If the will does not exist or is out of date, the result may not reflect what you intended.<\/p>\n Document 2: Your power of attorney<\/strong><\/p>\n A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that takes effect during your lifetime, when you are unable to manage your own affairs. It also has two components:<\/p>\n A POA addresses incapacity, not death. It is the document that protects you if you are in a serious accident, develop a cognitive illness, or are otherwise unable to manage your financial affairs. Without it, your family may need to apply to the court for guardianship, a process that is slow, expensive, and public.<\/p>\n The POA is the document clients most often underestimate. The will tends to feel urgent because death feels final. Incapacity feels abstract, but it is a real and foreseeable risk, and the cost of being unprepared is high.<\/p>\n Choosing the right people<\/strong><\/p>\n The most common question in estate planning is: Who should I name?<\/p>\n The answer requires more than identifying someone you trust. The roles of executor and attorney are functional roles. The person you name needs to be capable of performing specific tasks, not just someone with good intentions. Consider the following criteria:<\/p>\n Family members and professional trustees each have advantages. A family member may understand your values and relationships. A professional trustee brings objectivity, experience with complex estates, and institutional accountability. For estates with significant assets, business interests, or family conflict, a professional executor or an executor supported by a professional is often the more defensible choice.<\/p>\n The right answer depends on your specific circumstances. What matters is that the decision is made deliberately, not by default.<\/p>\n How often should you review your plan?<\/strong><\/p>\n An estate plan is not a permanent document. It reflects your circumstances, your relationships, and the law at a point in time. All three change.<\/p>\n A review every five to ten years is a reasonable baseline. A review should also be triggered by any of the following:<\/p>\n For high-net-worth families, changes in asset structure are particularly important. A will drafted before a significant liquidity event, a business sale, or a substantial inheritance may no longer reflect how assets are held or how they should be distributed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Frequently asked questions<\/strong><\/p>\n What happens if I do not have a will?<\/strong><\/p>\n Your estate will be distributed according to provincial intestacy legislation. This may not align with your wishes. The process is typically slower, more expensive, and more stressful for your family than it needs to be. More importantly, your beneficiaries may not be who you would have chosen.<\/p>\n Can I name more than one executor?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. However, co-executors must agree on decisions, which can create delays if they disagree. A common approach is to name one primary executor and one alternate. If you do name co-executors, consider whether they have the working relationship to make joint decisions under pressure.<\/p>\n Should I choose a family member or a professional executor?<\/strong><\/p>\n Both can work. The right choice depends on the complexity of your estate, the dynamics within your family, and the capabilities of the person you are considering. A family member who is not equipped for the administrative burden of a complex estate may unintentionally cause delays and errors. A professional executor costs more but brings expertise and neutrality. For high-net-worth estates, the cost of a professional executor is typically a small fraction of the value they protect.<\/p>\n What if my named executor or attorney can no longer serve?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is one of the most frequently overlooked issues in estate planning. People outlive their named representatives, or circumstances change. If your executor or attorney is no longer able or willing to serve and you have not named an alternate or updated the document, the process defaults to the court. Review your documents regularly and update them when the person you named is no longer the right choice.<\/p>\n Is a power of attorney really necessary if my assets are jointly held?<\/strong><\/p>\n Joint ownership addresses some scenarios but not all. If both joint owners become incapacitated simultaneously, if the jointly held asset is later restructured, or if there are assets held in your name alone, a POA is still necessary. It is also worth noting that joint ownership can have unintended tax and estate planning consequences.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Bringing it together<\/strong><\/p>\n Estate planning is a technical exercise, but it is also a deeply personal one. The documents are the output. The real work is the thinking that precedes them: who you trust, what you value, and what you want to happen when you cannot direct it yourself.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the process is straightforward, approached step by step:<\/p>\n For families who have accumulated wealth, the stakes of getting this wrong are high. The cost of getting it right is modest by comparison.<\/p>\n A final note<\/strong><\/p>\n If your estate plan has not been reviewed in the past five years, it may be out of date. That is not a criticism. It is a description of how most plans age. A short conversation is usually all it takes to determine whether the documents you have still serve the purpose you intended them to serve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have questions about how your estate plan fits into your broader financial picture, I am glad to have that conversation with you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Estate planning is one of the most consequential components of a comprehensive financial plan. Despite this, many families delay the process or avoid it entirely. That delay carries real risk. This article outlines the core documents, the decisions they require, and the questions that come up most often. Why this conversation cannot wait A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":1429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-insights"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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