Posts by Martin Sanderson

One can generally complete paperwork at the holding institution (e.g. bank, insurance, or pension company) that allows the proceeds of RRSPs, TFSAs, and life insurance policies as “Beneficiary-Designatable Assets” or “BDAs” to pass to the named beneficiaries outside of one’s estate passing under one’s will.

As estate and incapacity planning professionals, we are frequently approached by folks living in a blended family (a spousal relationship in which one or both spouses have children from another relationship). For folk in such situations, understanding the unique challenges of estate planning in blended families, with their intricate family dynamics and objectives, is vital.

A large number of the folks we advise first walk in the door wanting to talk about “having a trust,” “making a trust,” “using a trust,” or having an “in-trust account.” In our experience, very few people arrive with much of an idea of what a trust actually is or the basics of how a trust operates. Fortunately, we enjoy explaining such things.

Sometimes, one wants to leave an inheritance to a beneficiary, but the beneficiary is not a person to whom large sums of money or valuable assets can be safely given. In a previous article, we discussed using discretionary trusts to provide for someone with a disability who might lose their disability benefits if they inherit too much. This article will discuss a distinct but similar question: How can I leave an inheritance for someone who cannot manage money?

Estate planning involves myriad decisions. One set of these is a critical collection of decisions relating to the possibility of naming one’s adult children as beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries of assets like Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), and life insurance policies.

Without a will specifying that assets destined for minors are to be held in trust for those minors until they reach the age of majority, the personal representative of a deceased’s estate may be obliged to pay the shares of the estate due to those minors to an entity known as the Public Guardian and Trustee.

A Grant of Probate is a court order issued by the Supreme Court of British Columbia that, once granted, is attached to the original will of a deceased individual.

Nearly every day, our clients pass along estate planning suggestions they have been offered by well-meaning bank staff, friends, neighbours, and the lovely gentleman who takes great care of the lawn.

Trustworthiness and competence are the two most important criteria when deciding whom to appoint as one’s attorney in one’s power of attorney for financial and legal affairs.