Ep. 16 Understanding Wills Living Richer

1. Why a Will is the cornerstone of a good estate plan.
Get to dictate where assets go, guardian of children, who administers estateWithout a Will, the law decides who gets assets and it’s not necessarily all to a spouseStreamlines estate administration and can help to reduce taxes/fees on death
2. What makes for a good Will?
Revokes previous WillsNames executor and alternateDisposes of household itemsGiftsResidue – no missing piecesAdministrative provisions – a few pages at leastSigned and witnessed
3.  Beyond the Will, what should someone pay attention to when creating or updating their estate plan?
Assets, family situation, contractual or support obligations    Executor and an eye to the administration of the estate
4.  What should someone consider when naming an executor?
Should be ideally in province, definitely in CanadaFinancially savvy, time, ageRelationship with beneficiaries, potential for conflictConsider professional executor
5. What are some of the main issues that can complicate estate planning and administration
Poor Wills, Will challenges (undue influence)Joint assets – who actually owns them?Conflict – siblings; blended familiesCottageAccusations against executor
6. What is probate and how can it be avoided or minimized?
Probate is a court process to get court’s stamp of approval on the WillProbate fees approx.. 1.5% of the estate valuesPlanning techniques: assets joint with spouse, beneficiary designations, gifting during lifeEach of the above has complications and pitfalls so important to be done holisticall
7.  Why a trust can be an important part of an estate plan.
Trusts – give someone benefit of money, but trustee controlsTerms can be very flexible – from discretionary to set; can end at a certain age or continue, can have one or more beneficiariesGenerally used to protect vulnerable beneficiaries – minors, disabled (ODSP), spendthrift, vulnerable spouseCan sometimes be used to provide some income splitting, but less so now with changes to trust taxationNeed a trustee who knows what they are doing, trustworthy, time, objective