Estate Planning

Canadian estate planning

It is true what they say about death and taxes.  However, while they cannot be avoided entirely, knowing you have a good plan goes some way to easing your mind about the inevitable.

The basic estate-planning package includes a will, ensuring power of attorney and representation agreement.  Each of these documents serves different, yet critical, purposes in ensuring your needs are taken care of in the event of death or incapacity.

More advanced strategies are also available to minimize the tax and probate fees that will be charged to your estate.  Probate fees in British Columbia are levied at a rate of 1.4% on the value of assets that pass through your estate.  An Alter Ego or Joint-Partner trust can eliminate that probate fee by removing trust assets from your probate estate.  This also provides protection against estate challenges under BC’s wills variation legislation.

Business owners may be able to defer some of the tax imposed on their company by implementing a corporate reorganization and estate freeze.  This strategy involves the creation of new shares, which will capture the future growth in the value of your business and avoid taxation of that growth upon the owner’s death.

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