How do I know if my Will and/or Estate Plan still meets my needs?
The only way to answer this is to say “talk to a Wills and Estates lawyer about your Will, and if you don’t have a Will, then get one!”
If you don’t have a lawyer, or if you wish to obtain a second opinion on your estate plan or documents, feel free to use the Contact Us form on the left of your screen and we will put you in contact with a Wills and Estate lawyer from our firm.
Even if you do have a current Will, your property may have increased significantly in value since you prepared your Will. This may have an impact upon probate fees, income taxes, or even whether the terms of your Will still accurately reflect your wishes.
There are considerable changes taking place in short order that affect the realm of Wills, Estates, and Estate Planning. The Power of Attorney Act, Representation Agreement Act, and other planning statues are being amended effective September 1, 2011. In addition, the new Wills, Estates and Succession Act (“WESA”) is expected to be brought into force in late 2011 or early 2012. WESA amends the Wills Act, the Estate Administration Act, and another roughly 35 Provincial statues.
Finally, if you own property as joint tenants with any person(s) , it is important to note that the laws regarding joint tenancies has changed. In 2008 the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision in a case which involved certain assets which were held jointly by the parent and one of their children. When the parent passed away, the question arose “who do the joint assets belong to”. Even thought the assets were described as “joint with right of survivorship”, the Court held that the assets were solely owned by the parent, did not pass to the child by right of survivorship, and were part of the parent’s estate on their death. The Court held that there is a legal presumption under such circumstances that the asset was not intended to pass to the child as surviving joint tenant, and if the surviving child is alleging that the asset was intended to pass to them, it falls to that child to prove (on a balance of probabilities) that the parent intended to gift the right of survivorship, otherwise the assets will be treated as part of the parent’s estate to be distributed according to their Will.
If you have not already done so, we strongly recommend that you contact a Wills and Estates lawyer to discuss these changes and whether they have an impact upon your existing estate plan, and estate planning documents.