Just like a Tax Plan, everyone has an estate plan whether they know it or not and whether they like it or not. Ontario, Canada and all other jurisdictions with which a deceased person may have legal connection have rules which determine how your assets, after payment of applicable fees and taxes, will be transferred on death. Rarely will the resulting distribution match what the deceased would have wanted had she addressed her mind to the problem. Given that less than half the adults in Canada have wills, can we assume Canadians want to pay more taxes and let someone else dictate their personal affairs?

The primary document in the estate plan is the Will, however, a comprehensive plan may include Powers of Attorney, Family Trusts, and Domestic Agreements. The estate plan will also consider issues that arise in the areas of Business Law, Tax Planning and Real Estate Law.

We have posted an Estate Planning Questionnaire for our clients under the Wills section of this site. Simply go to the Wills section, click on Estate Planning Questionnaire, enter your client password and view the questionnaire in downloadable PDF format, or download a Word file that you can fill in and return to us. New clients and current clients who do not have a password can obtain one by calling us at (416) MY1-4LAW (691-4529) or by sending an e-mail to password@eyton-jones.ca.