Making a will is your opportunity to protect your hard-earned assets and your legacy. Delaying the opportunity to draw up a will can affect the future of your loved ones.

A will, also known as a last will and testament, is a legal document that outlines your intentions for the distribution of your assets in the event of your passing. Additionally, a will enables you to appoint guardians for minor children. While personal situations vary, here are five reasons to get your will done today.

Watch Bloom Investment Counsel Inc.’s Kevin Willis join O’Sullivan Estate Lawyers LLP’s Margaret O’Sullivan, Susannah Roth, Marly Peikes and Stephanie Battista for a comprehensive discussion on protecting a child’s inheritance.

You probably think your current estate plan covers all your assets, from real estate or a business to investment accounts, and therefore protects your loved ones and the assets you’ve worked hard to accumulate—but what about your digital assets? In this article, we discuss the definition of digital assets, give examples of what they encompass, and explain why planning for a digital legacy may be an important update to your estate plan.

Did you know that a significant risk to Canadian estate wealth lies in the application of deemed disposition by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)?

In an estate planning context, deemed disposition is the assumption (for tax purposes) that the deceased has disposed all of their capital property just before death, thereby crystalizing taxable capital gains on appreciated assets, as well as including the full value of the deceased’s RRSP or RRIF assets in their  taxable income on their terminal return (if spousal rollover is not elected or is not applicable).

The application of such deemed disposition upon your passing, subject to how you have structured your wealth at the time of your passing, may significantly erode your estate wealth. In extreme cases, your executor may be forced to liquidate assets to settle the resulting tax liabilities.

In this article, we describe two insurance solutions which may help you cover the tax which would otherwise be payable by your estate.

Formulating an estate plan can be daunting, but the process can add tremendous value to your overall wealth strategy, reinforcing your financial peace of mind and ensuring your legacy. To help guide your estate planning process, we have developed an estate planning checklist, organized into 4 key steps.