Our practice

Estate planning

 

Providing you guidance on estate planning to protect your interests and your family’s interests.

Specialties

Estate Planning

Estate planning is essential to ensuring that your wishes are carried out, to protect your beneficiaries, and minimize the duration and cost (tax and legal fees) to administering an estate.

 

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Estate planning consists of many different areas and documents, including:

  • Succession and Legacy Planning 
  • Probate
  • Estate Administration
  • Wills and Secondary Wills 
  • Powers of Attorney for Property
  • Powers of Attorney for Personal Care
  • Health Care Directives
  • Trusts (e.g. Henson Trust, Bare Trust, House Trust)
  • Life Interests
  • Joint and Beneficial Interests

    To ensure your true intentions are recorded and carried out, we ask a lot of questions and request a lot of information, as most people are not aware of all the legal variances and the particularity required to ensure wishes are fulfilled and unintended consequences do not arise!                                                      

    CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTATE PLANNING (JUST A FEW …)

    • Family structure and relationships
    • Transference of personal property, real property and assets
    • Limiting family infighting
    • Who is the right executor and attorney for property and personal care
    • Succession planning
    • Minimization of taxes
    • Avoiding probate
    • Minimize costs and inconvenience after death
    • What is the right distribution plan
    • Is a Trust required (i.e. spousal, Henson, house)?
    • Postponement to minors
    • Protection for Special Needs Person
    • Protection of addicts
    • Disinheritances
    PROBATE & ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

    Probate is the process of proving the validity of a Will and the approval of the Executor to act as the estate representative. If there is no Will, the deceased is deemed to have died intestate. In most cases where there is an intestacy, probate is unavoidable and, in such instances, there is increased complexity to administering an estate.

    Probate is a complex and time-consuming process. If incorrectly done, it can result in delays to the administration and settlement of an estate. The Court requires all rules and forms to be followed and up to date and will not accept anything less.

    Executors also need to be aware of the legal requirements for probate and the administration of an estate to avoid unwanted consequences and potential liability from creditors, including Revenue Canada, and beneficiaries.

    We see our role as a partner with the Executor and will assist them throughout the entire process. Many estates have real property that needs to be dealt with. Pregler Law has expertise in real estate transactions and can assist our clients with title transfers, survivorship applications and selling of the real property.

    WILLS (LAST TESTAMENT)

    Is a Will important? Absolutely, a Will is extremely important if you want the distribution of your Estate to reflect your desired intent. If you pass away without a Will, your estate is distributed according to the Succession Law Reform Act, regardless of what your wishes are. In addition, the costs to probate may be greater and the length of time to settle your estate may be considerably longer in duration.

    Having a Will also reduces the chance of litigation, breakdown of family relationships, and will result in less stress for the executor of the estate.

    Pregler Law takes an active approach to drafting Wills and Powers of Attorney. There are a lot of factors that most people do not even consider, and we believe that providing a Will or Power of Attorney without addressing those considerations would be a disservice to our clients. Our job is not to just say “Yes”, our job is to ensure that your wishes are documented properly and there are no unintended consequences. While ultimately it is your decision, we provide you with the pros and cons so the decision is an informed one.

    If you already have a Will, we recommend reviewing it every few years to make sure that it is current and there are no changes required. For example, your executor or guardian may have moved or may no longer be able to act, or a beneficiary may have passed away.

    Important Considerations:

    • Appointing of the Executor, substitute and alternate Executors
    • Effect of “Joint” and “Joint and Several” Executors
    • Appointing of Guardians
    • Naming of beneficiaries
    • Specific bequests
    • Cash legacies
    • Residue
    • Jointly Held Assets
    • Per stirpes or per capita distribution
    • What’s your protection, as well as your estate’s and beneficiaries’ protection against improper behavior of the executor
    • Protecting your beneficiaries inheritance from claims by their spouses, partners, etc.
    • Inheritance and ODSP (Ontario Disability) and Addictions
    • Blended families
    • Stepchildren vs. Biological vs. Adopted
    POWERS OF ATTORNEY

    Powers of Attorney are equally important as having a Will. You never know when you will be unable to make decisions, whether you are on vacation or in the hospital, and having someone in place to act on your behalf will ensure decisions are made in a timely fashion and following your wishes.

    The “Attorney” is the person(s) you appoint to make financial and personal care decisions on your behalf during your lifetime. You can designate your Attorney(s) to have limited or unlimited decision-making authority. Pregler Law will discuss these factors with you so you can make the best decision for you.

    Important Considerations:

    • Appointing of the attorney, substitute, and alternate attorneys
    • Effect of “Joint” and “Joint and Several” attorneys
    • Staying in your residence vs. going into a home
    • What happens if you are on life support?
    • Understanding Health Care Directive vs. DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) vs. MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying)
    • What’s your protection, as well as the estates and beneficiaries’ protection against improper behavior of the attorney.
    TRUSTS

    Trusts are an important consideration when devising your Will. Trusts dictate how a gift under a Will is distributed, varying based on the type of Trust. The Trustee, being the person who is responsible for administering the trust and holding the property on behalf of the beneficiary/beneficiaries, may be the same as the Executor, but does not have to be. Some of the more common trusts are:

    • Spousal Trust
    • House Trust
    • Spendthrift Trust
    • Henson Trust
    • Charitable Trust

      Trusts can also be set up as part of a Will, taking effect only on the death of the “settlor”, or during the lifetime of the “settlor”. A Trust created by a Will is referred to as a “Testamentary Trust”. A Trust created during one’s lifetime is referred to as an “Inter Vivos” Trust. There are many reasons why a Trust would be created, including, but not limited to the following reasons:

      • Control the management and distribution of property
      • Minimize tax
      • Minizmize family disuputes
      • Protect beneficiaries who are not able to manage their own affairs (e.g. disabled, not “mentally competent”)
      • Protect beneficiaries who are addicts
      • Protect beneficiaries who receive Disability through the government.
      • Protect loved ones from having to move out of your home

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