Estate Planning Essentials: What You Need To Consider

It’s no secret that preparing and finalizing an estate plan can be a daunting task. Whether starting from scratch having never prepared a Will, or updating documents after a big life event, there are many important decisions that go into preparing these documents.

Typically, most of these decisions will be made during an initial meeting with a lawyer after completing a comprehensive questionnaire. However, having a general sense of wishes and priorities prior to this meeting allows for a more focused and productive conversation and can help one feel more confident when discussing important estate planning decisions. Provided below are a few key points to consider and why they are important to think about before sitting down to discuss your estate plan. While this list is by no means exhaustive, considering some of these points in advance can provide a valuable starting point for planning out estate documents and ensuring one’s wishes are clearly reflected:

1. Who to appoint as Executors and/or Trustees – generally speaking, these are the people who will be in charge of administering an estate. They will make the day to day decisions on how trusts are administered, how debts get paid and distribute the personal effects to their intended beneficiary/beneficiaries. Acting as an executor can be a time consuming job, so some important considerations to keep in mind when thinking about who should fill this role are a person’s age, where they live and their occupation.
2. Who to appoint as Custodians of Minor Children – considerations should be made for any minor children and one should also think of a potential guardian’s age and where they currently live. It is also important to consider whether or not there are specific wishes that should be conveyed, such as wishes for a child’s education or distributing funds from the estate to the guardians to help offset any financial hardship the guardians may incur. For more information on this topic, click here.
3. Who are the beneficiaries and how will they inherit– possibly one of the most important decisions to be made is who will inherit one’s estate. Ensuring the estate is fully distributed can also help to avoid a potential intestacy. Once it has been determined who will inherit the estate, consider how they will inherit – in many cases, this can be an outright distribution or it can be paid out or distributed through a trust. If there are younger children who may potentially inherit a large sum from an estate, a trust can be a great option. Through discussions with one’s lawyer, appropriate ages and amounts for distributions, as well as considerations of any additional factors that could impact the trust (such as a beneficiary’s disability or whether they live outside of Canada) can be determined.
4. Disposition of Residential and/or Cottage Properties – if one owns any properties, it is important to consider how those properties will be distributed on death. This is especially important when a property is shared with other family members, as is often the case with family cottages or vacation homes. Clearly setting out one’s intentions in a Will can help to avoid confusion and provide guidance for loved ones when it comes time to either distribute or sell the property. For many families, keeping a cottage for future generations is an important goal, so if a property is intended to be left to multiple beneficiaries, it is helpful to think in advance about how ownership should be shared and managed. For more information on this topic, click here.
5. Who will look after Pets – for anyone who has ever had a pet knows how they quickly become part of the family, so it makes sense to ensure they are looked after and instructions are provided in the estate planning documents. Consider who should be entrusted with the care of a pet, and in some cases, whether or not a monetary gift should be left to assist with ongoing costs (such as food, general care and future vet bills).

Step one is all about turning one’s mind to some of these bigger, more difficult decisions when creating an estate plan and, in doing so, can ultimately provide for a smoother initial meeting with your lawyer. While these conversations and decisions are not always easy, giving them thoughtful consideration before meeting with a lawyer can make the process far less overwhelming. Not only can this preparation lead to a more productive and efficient first meeting, but it can also help to reduce delays, minimize uncertainty and streamline the drafting and completion of the necessary estate planning documents.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.