MINIMIZE TAXES AND PROBATE FEES
Upon death, everyone’s estate goes through the process of probate. Probate is a court supervised process of validating a will and establishing the distribution of assets of the deceased, including the payment of any outstanding debts.
Expensive and complex, probate takes about eighteen months to finalize. On top of the court’s initial filing costs, additional fees can be quite substantial, depending on each province’s specific terms. By proactively planning an estate, you can simplify or avoid many common probate headaches.
Trusts
Essentially, a trust is a legal relationship that maintains ownership of an asset on behalf of a beneficiary. Unlike a will, a trust can provide your family with tax, matrimonial and credit protection. Trusts are extremely flexible as an estate planning tool. They can be tailored to fit your family’s and your specific requirements. A trust can be created during your lifetime (an inter vivos trust) or after death under the terms of your will (a testamentary trust). You appoint a trustee to hold specific property for your beneficiaries. The trust document sets out the manner in which the trustee must deal with this property and how and when it is to be transferred to your beneficiaries. You can give the trustee as much or as little discretionary power as you wish.
Trust planning is an effective and viable alterative to other methods of transferring wealth to loved ones. Often under-utilized for planning, trusts can offer a remarkable sum of benefits when applied under the right conditions.
You may use a trust to:
- Keep your assets in the family if your spouse remarries
- Guarantee income or capital for your surviving spouse’s lifetime
- Split income over generations
- Make provisions for future unborn grandchildren
- Enjoy preferential tax treatment
- Maintain control over asset investments and distribution
- Protect from future risks; marriage breakdown in future generations, creditors etc
- Enjoy flexibility you can name multiple beneficiaries, each benefiting in a different way and at different times
Contact us today to shrink your future tax bill
