Your estate plan determines what happens to everything you've built — and who bears the tax burden. We ensure your wishes are documented, your heirs are protected, and your wealth transfers with minimal friction, cost, and delay.
From drafting your first will to administering a complex cross-border estate — we guide families through every stage with care and precision.
Professionally drafted wills that clearly express your wishes — naming executors, guardians for minor children, specific bequests, and residual estate distribution — reviewed and updated as your life changes.
Continuing power of attorney for property and personal care / healthcare directives — ensuring someone you trust can manage your affairs and make medical decisions if you become incapacitated.
Reviewing and coordinating beneficiary designations across all accounts — RRSP, TFSA, life insurance, pensions, and retirement plans — to ensure they align with your will and minimize probate fees.
Minimizing the deemed disposition tax triggered at death — through spousal rollovers, TFSA preservation, capital gains crystallization strategies, and coordinated beneficiary planning to reduce the tax hit on your estate.
Structuring asset ownership, beneficiary designations, and joint ownership arrangements to reduce the assets subject to probate — cutting fees and delays for your estate and beneficiaries.
Planning for estates with assets, beneficiaries, or executors in both Canada and the US — coordinating deemed disposition, US estate tax, treaty elections, and probate across both jurisdictions.
Trusts created through your will that take effect at death — used to protect inheritances for minor or vulnerable beneficiaries, stagger distributions over time, and potentially reduce taxes paid by beneficiaries on trust income.
Living trusts for individuals aged 65+ that allow assets to transfer directly to beneficiaries without probate — avoiding court delays, maintaining privacy, and ensuring seamless succession outside the will.
Absolute discretionary trusts designed for beneficiaries with disabilities — preserving their eligibility for government support programs while still providing for their care and quality of life.
Trusts that defer the deemed disposition tax on assets transferred at death to a spouse — providing income to the surviving spouse while protecting the capital for children from a prior relationship.
Acting as or supporting trustees in their obligations — investment oversight, annual trust tax returns (T3), distributions to beneficiaries, record-keeping, and compliance with the trust deed and applicable legislation.
Advising on cross-border trust structures — including the tax treatment of Canadian trusts with US beneficiaries, Foreign Grantor Trust rules, and the US reporting obligations that arise when trust assets cross borders.
Complete preparation of the Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee (Ontario) and equivalent applications in other provinces — including asset valuations, court filing, and fee calculations.
Supporting executors through the full estate administration process — asset inventory and valuation, creditor notifications, debt settlements, account closures, and final distribution to beneficiaries with proper releases.
Filing all required tax returns for the deceased — the terminal T1 return, optional returns (rights or things, self-employed income), the estate T3 trust return, and a clearance certificate before final distribution.
Executors carry significant personal liability. We provide step-by-step guidance — checklists, timelines, government notice templates, and financial administration support — so executors fulfill their duties confidently and correctly.
Administering estates with assets in both Canada and the US — including ancillary probate for US real estate, Canadian clearance certificates, US estate tax returns (Form 706-NA), and treaty elections.
Providing financial analysis, documentation, and expert support in estate disputes — including will challenges, executor accountability proceedings, and beneficiary disputes — working alongside legal counsel.
Each trust type solves a different problem. We recommend the right structure based on your specific family circumstances, assets, and goals.
Created by your will. Activates at death. Assets held and managed for beneficiaries — often children or vulnerable family members — until conditions are met.
Created during your lifetime (age 65+). Assets transfer directly to beneficiaries at death — bypassing probate entirely. Provides control, privacy, and seamless succession.
Designed for beneficiaries with disabilities. Trustee has absolute discretion over distributions — preserving the beneficiary's eligibility for ODSP and other support programs.
Transfers assets to a trust for a surviving spouse — deferring the deemed disposition tax until the spouse's death, while protecting capital for children from prior relationships.
An inter vivos discretionary trust holding assets for benefit of family members — primarily used for income splitting, business succession, and capital gains planning during your lifetime.
Intestate succession laws divide your estate — not necessarily the way you would have chosen. Courts appoint an administrator, assets may go to estranged relatives, and minor children's shares are held until age 18 with no discretion.
Draft your will nowEstate administration in Ontario typically takes 12–18 months for straightforward estates, and longer for complex or cross-border situations. Knowing the steps in advance reduces stress — and mistakes.
Obtain death certificates, locate the will, notify beneficiaries, secure assets, cancel government benefits, notify financial institutions.
Prepare court application, value estate assets, calculate Ontario Estate Administration Tax (~1.5%), file with Superior Court of Justice.
Collect, liquidate, or transfer assets; publish notice to creditors; pay estate debts, CRA arrears, and administration costs.
File terminal T1 return, optional T1 returns, T3 estate trust return, and apply for a tax clearance certificate before distributing assets.
Distribute estate assets to beneficiaries with signed releases, prepare final executor's accounts, and close the estate.
A complete estate plan is more than just a will. Review this checklist — and let us know what's missing from yours.
Grey items above? Most people are missing at least two of these. Book a free consultation and we'll walk through your complete estate picture.
Estate planning disconnected from your tax situation, corporate structure, and retirement income plan is incomplete — and often creates the very problems it was meant to solve.
We plan your estate alongside your income tax and corporate structure — so decisions about wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations are always evaluated for their tax consequences, not in isolation.
Estates spanning Canada and the US face double the complexity — deemed disposition at death, US estate tax on Canadian residents, treaty elections, ancillary probate, and dual-jurisdiction clearance. We handle it all.
Executors carry personal liability. We provide practical, step-by-step administrative support — preparing tax returns, managing creditors, handling CRA, and walking executors through every obligation precisely.
Major life events — marriage, divorce, new children, business sale, relocation — all require estate plan updates. We prompt you to review and keep your documents current as your life changes.
Estate matters are deeply personal. We maintain absolute confidentiality across all aspects of your plan — asset values, family circumstances, and distribution decisions. Your privacy is a non-negotiable commitment.
We'll review your existing estate documents, beneficiary designations, and asset structure — identify gaps, outdated provisions, or tax inefficiencies — at no charge.
Book a Free ReviewStructured to match your life stage, complexity, and the size of the estate being planned or administered.
For individuals and couples creating or updating their core estate documents for the first time.
For families and business owners requiring advanced tax planning, trust structures, and full estate administration support.
For estates with assets, beneficiaries, or executors spanning Canada and the United States.
Estate planning raises sensitive, complex questions. Here are the ones we hear most often — and our answers are always specific to your situation, not generic.
Ask Us AnythingWhether you're starting your estate plan, updating documents after a life change, or navigating the administration of a loved one's estate — we bring the precision, sensitivity, and expertise this work demands.
