The process of estate planning involves several crucial decisions. Clearly, one of the most important is choosing the right executor of a will. This person or institution will be responsible for managing your estate after you pass away, ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes. But who is best suited for this important role? Let's delve into this topic and explore the key factors to consider when selecting an executor of a
Canadian Estate Planning
Plan Your Estate & Protect Your Legacy
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66% of Canadians Aged 35-54 Don't Have A Will
According to RBC Wealth Management
How Organized Are You For Your Executor?
It's more than just a will
An estate plan goes much further than a will. Not only does it deal with the distribution of assets and legacy wishes, but it may help you and your heirs pay substantially less in taxes, fees, and court costs.
A properly planned estate will leave your family with the resources and legacy you want them to have, not the burden & stress than most non-planned estates cause.
We Focus On The 5 Core Areas Of Your Estate!
Debt: When someone dies with debts like mortgages, the people who inherit their assets may need to qualify with a lender to keep those assets. However, it's not always possible for the beneficiaries to do so.
Insurance: A versatile insurance policy can be designed to help with reducing debts, fulfilling the wishes of the deceased, handling tax obligations, and providing financial support for both the executors and beneficiaries.
Investment: Generally, investments, including real estate, go through a legal process called probate, even if beneficiaries are named. This process can create unnecessary problems, costs, and restrictions for the executor when distributing funds.
Tax: We all have to deal with taxes, even after we pass away. It's the legal responsibility of the executor to ensure that any tax bills from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are paid. However, many Canadians are unaware of the taxes they owe, which can leave their executor liable to the CRA.
Estate: Plan My Estate focuses on the desires of the person making the will and the needs of their loved ones. We help families and business owners achieve peace of mind before death by reducing estate administration costs, minimizing family conflicts, and helping executors avoid mistakes and unnecessary expenses.
In the digital age, many services have moved online, including legal services and their supporters. One online service that has gained popularity is creating your own will online. However, many Canadians are left wondering, "Are online wills legal in Canada?" The answer is yes, but with some caveats. This blog post aims to shed light on the legality and validity of a Canadian will online. It also outlines the support you may receive from specialty
Every 5 years, the federal government commissions a survey to update data on financial matters, fiscal concerns, and spending habits of the public. That survey seeks out respondents from varying social arrangements, economic status and age groups regarding participants' financial strata and individual experiences. The report highlights the most recent results from the 2019 Canadian Financial Capability Survey (CFCS) as follows. I found it had many curious responses from those surveyed listed in its report.
What is probate and how to avoid it? Probate is a process that Provincial Governments oversee and register the assets and liabilities of a deceased's estate. Real property, real estate and other assets are subject to both the provincial protocols and their associated fees, which can be costly in both time and money. However, there are certain tools Canadians can use to avoid probate. Insurance-based life contracts, including insurance-based investments, can be exempt from probate
BASIC
If you're looking for guidance with getting your basic estate documents created.
$
199
* This includes the 3 basic estate documents: Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, Representation Agreement for Health
STANDARD (General)
This is our most common package and applies to the majority of Estates
$
599
Commercial
If your estate includes rental properties, small business or you are a proprietor, this package is required.
$
1299
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR ESTATE DOCUMENTS COMPLETED?
Do you desire an estate consult to review continuity and preparedness of your executor and estate plans
Individuals and Family: Review of existing wills and POA documents to determine if reliable trustees and attorneys have a depth of planning and understanding to administer the testators wishes at the time of need. Often, there is confusion or misaligned intentions in a family setting that could be avoided with an estate consult.
Sole Proprietor: If the business is registered as a sole proprietorship, considerations include closing the business with the CRA, alerting creditors, informing customers while tending to the personal needs of the estate.
Real Estate: Primary residence, rental real estate or recreational properties of the testator require additional consultation. Generally, there is a need to align expectations of beneficiaries to the timing and wishes of the testator's gift. Considerations include, capital gains tax, property maintenance, title transfer registration, refinancing or selling costs.
Corporate Consult: Preserve the integrity of the operations and asset values for the beneficiaries of shareholders while respecting the needs of the business and partners.
Estate Settlement Consult: There are efficiencies that can be made to ensure your wishes are delivered once authority has been granted to an executor or POA. Pre-planning is the key to ensuring your wishes are protected and honored.
Executor and POA Consult: These are the most trusted appointments for a testator to consider. Often the complexity of administering an estate can out-match the skills of an executor to understand and navigate on their own. Assessing your appointments and their capacities is critical to proper estate planning.
Estate Cash on Hand Consult: A full report of the expenses your estate will incur and how to position funds for your executor to access quickly. This consult also reviews the team of professionals that need to align.
Fees start at $299 for an hour with $175 every hour after
How Do You Know Which Package Is For You?
Basic Package
Standard Package (General)
Commercial Package
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It's one phone call with a Certified Estate Coordinator that you will answer all your questions...guaranteed!
Matched With A Certified Estate Planning Coodinator
Why Use A Canadian Estate Planning Coordinator?
Canadian Estate Planning Coordinators are specialists trained in all elements of planning estates. More specifically, they are certified in the specific process outlined within the Canadian Estate Planning Guide.
While you're not required to use the services of a Canadian Estate Planning Coordinator, the value you receive from having a direct line of communication together will be invaluable not only in the knowledge but the accountability to complete your guide.
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with a focus on the living.
Your contact information will not be sold or shared with any outside organizations. It's only used to communicate with you about your estate planning journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifications and experience does the estate planning service have? It's important that the professionals who will be assisting you are adequately trained and experienced in estate planning.
Each Client/Testator/Donor will have a meeting with a PME Estate Coordinator who is a certified CEA further trained within the Plan My Estate client service process. The CEA is a professional designation which is geared towards making ease of the executor’s tasks, and properly anticipating difficulties that could be avoided if the Client/ Testator/Donor had considered and properly documented their wishes in advance of their death or physical/mental incapacities.
How will the service help me identify and document my beneficiaries? The service should assist you in clearly defining who will receive what from your estate, as noted in the sources.
Providing reliable and ongoing access to create documents and amend them in the future to the changing needs of the Client/Testator/Donor is our service mandate. Further, our service prepares executors for estate administration and guides testators to position their assets and holdings in ways that support estate administration more efficiently.
What strategies does the service recommend to minimize potential taxes and avoid probate? Proper estate planning should include strategies for avoiding unnecessary taxes and the time-consuming, often costly probate process.
All our CEAs maintain an in-depth knowledge of insurance and varying investment products to help the Client/Testator/Donor to foresee possible conflicts or delays in the settlement of an estate. Plan My Estate Coordinators are assistants to the Client/Testator/Donor under our PME service agreement. We help to identify and source other professionals’ services associated with proper estate documentation, taxation, and corporate restructuring, implementing estate freezes and trusts as well as select estate settlement professionals when the need of the clientele is beyond our specific purview.
How will the service help me determine my medical care preferences and plan for potential incapacitation? The service should assist in determining your wishes for medical care and how these should be implemented if you are unable to make these decisions yourself.
Although most individual preferences for medical care documents are personally constructed, each province has a specific protocol to adhere to when denoting those client instructions. Our awareness that some provinces impose restrictions which are carefully controlled is part of our conversations with clientele regarding Living Will templates. We default to the resident province regulation which is required by the Client/Donor to use.
Will the service provide assistance with planning my funeral arrangements? Some estate planning services also help with pre-planning funerals, providing peace of mind and removing this burden from your loved ones.
Plan My Estate does not offer direct Pre-planned Funeral services currently. Those pre-arrangement are typically provided through the local funeral home providers. However, it is a discussion point with all Clients/Testators/Donors of Plan My Estate, so they are aware of the advantages and restrictions of such pre-arranged plans.
Can the service explain the benefits and drawbacks of different estate planning tools, such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney? Understanding these different tools and their implications is crucial for effective estate planning.
Yes. These are all discussion points between the CEA and the Client/Testator/Donor within each of our bundled PME Package offerings. The difference in the packages featured on the website is predetermined service offers. Knowing what ongoing access, the Client/Testator/Donor will need to retain for themselves, and the amount of time or specific tools/services are needed in our discussion. We encourage all Clients/Testators/Donors to schedule a free consultation appointment from our website with our team to organize details of the scope of their estate needs.
How does the service plan to understand and incorporate my personal values, fears, hopes, and dreams into the estate plan? A good estate planning service should get to know you well enough to create a plan that aligns with your personal values and wishes.
We value our Client/Testator/Donor’s time and the time of our appointed CEAs. Open and direct conversation is our aim when helping clientele develop an estate plan together. This is a relationship that, despite often dealing with emotional and sensitive personal matters, can help create a proper estate plan. We understand that time is needed to arrive at the best solution for an estate, so we encourage our Client/Testator/Donor to keep and maintain their Estate Documents ready to amend them as the wants and needs of the estate evolve with the client.
What is the cost of the service, and how does it compare to other estate planning services? Cost is a practical consideration and it's useful to compare different services to find one that offers good value.
Generally, our cost is consistently lower than those of our peers and other professional estate services. Although we are not lawyers, and more coordinators and educators, we develop reasonable estate planning and create supportive documentation that focuses an estate plan on the living and distribution. We help Clients/Testators/Donors to be aware of their estate planning needs and help them create documentation around those needs specific to them for a very reasonable cost. We refer to professional services as required.
How will the service handle updates and changes to the estate plan over time? Your estate plan may need to be adjusted as your circumstances change, so it's important to understand how this will be managed.
In conjunction with our most popular PME Standard Package, Plan My Estate has a monthly subscription service option. The Client/Testator/Donor can store and amend estate documents or consult with PME about any changes or reviews of their estate plan each year. An annual review of your estate plan, organization of your information and wishes are recommended.
Can the service provide references from satisfied clients? Reviews or references can give you insight into the quality of the service and the satisfaction of previous clients.
Regarding our staff’s professionalism, kind and friendly demeanor and the great ongoing service we provide; professional’s reviews, comments from other service providers and their testimonials may be solicited. Otherwise, individual, public endorsements and reviews are found on the Plan My Estate website or within Google review posts.
Experiences from others just like you.
Thank you for the peace of mind
I knew we needed to get our wills completed but I didn't know how to start; it was so overwhelming for me. We spoke to Barb and she guided us through everything and it's all coming together! Thank you for the peace of mind, Barb!
Denise Fitzsimmons
...
AESS Phys. Ed. Department
Provides a step by step complete package that will make an executor’s job easy and seamless!
Barb has been an incredible asset to me and my business; she looks at the entire picture, providing a holistic approach and has helped me clarify goals, maximize investments AND save me money in taxes. She is a very thoughtful, excellent communicator who has many skills. We are in the process of estate planning and could not be happier with her service. For the same price as getting a basic will made up through a lawyer, Barb provides a step by step complete package that will make an executor’s job easy and seamless! Barb acts with integrity and takes time to give all the options available, I trust her to make the best choices with my hard earned money. She has been the person I have been looking for to take my business to a higher level.
Gabriella Toth
Actually you can't imagine how relieved I am to have a clearer path in front of us and we have you and Mike to thank! I will share my experience with others.
J & J Auger
...
Barb MacKay and Mike Chapman
In all honesty most don't think about all that is involved when a loved one passes. It's just not part of our daily conversations. I'm here to tell all my friends and family that this is a conversation you need to have with your family. Plan for the future. Because as we know with all the good times in life there is also a difficult side. If you are wanting to discuss your needs with someone 100% on your side, I have no problem telling anyone about Barb and what service she provides through Canadian Estate Coordinators.
Jennifer Lynn Adams
...
Barb MacKay
Protect Your Estate...Start Your Planning Today
The peace of mind you will receive knowing that your estate has been planned will allow you to enjoy your life more.
Why have we partnered with Canadian Legal Wills?
Our partnership with Canadian Legal Wills allows us to access legal information about wills and estate planning on your behalf. They have the best, streamlined processes available online, which provides for multiple capacities. With Canadian Legal Wills, you will be the author of your own will, creating it on their website, with the option of lifetime membership. Read our Terms of Agreement.