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The Canadian Guide to Will and Estate Planning : Everything You Need to Know Today to Protect Your Wealth and Your Family Tomorrow
An essential resource to help you plan your estate and protect your assets
Praise for previous editions of The Canadian Guide to Will and Estate Planning:
“The authors have done a masterful job….This is a shelf reference every Canadian taxpayer and every Canadian family should have.” –THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“An informative, practical guide….The authors…cover all the bases.” –THE NATIONAL POST
Established as the go-to source of expert guidance, The Canadian Guide to Will and Estate Planning will save you money, taxes, risk, stress, and maintain peace of mind and family harmony. Completely updated to reflect the latest tax changes and with new information on charitable giving, including the donation of certain kinds of life insurance policies, this new edition explains practical strategies to:
• Avoid classic pitfalls, family feuds, and spousal disputes
• Minimize or avoid income, probate, and capital gains taxes
• Protect your digital assets
• Astutely deal with vacation properties, U.S. assets, and privately-owned businesses
Paperback
First published December 17, 2010
18 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 31, 2022
The combination of some health scares, being in my forties and having a positive financial net worth encouraged me to look into getting a will done. This book sketches out most common questions you should ask yourself about the topic. I found it useful as a first overview of the issue.
February 6, 2025
It was not easy, but an important read. It is a great source of information on the topic, and should be good as an overall guide. Appendices provide valuable summaries, examples and checklists.
March 9, 2013
I work in the group retirement industry and conduct seminars and one-on-ones. I talk about planning for retirement, investing, retirement payout options, government benefits, etc. As such, I thought this book would be interesting.
It's amazing the amount of people I talk with who aren't prepared .... they don't have a will, power of attorney, etc. This book is a good guide to tell you the things you should be doing along with worksheets, checklists, a glossary and a list of resources in the back.
None of us are looking forward to death but there are things you should do to put your affairs in order so when it does happen, your assets will be distributed the way you want them to be. All the provinces are different but here in Ontario, for example, if you die without a will and have:
* Spouse - all assets to spouse
* Spouse and relatives but no children - all assets to spouse
* Children only - all assets to children
* Spouse and one child - first $200,000 to spouse, rest split equally
* Spouse and children - first $200,000 to spouse, 1/3 of rest to spouse, 2/3 of rest to children
* No spouse or children - all assets to closest next of kin in this order: parents, brothers/sisters (if no parents), nephews/nieces (if no brothers/sisters) ... if no next of kin, the government gets your assets
Wouldn't it be better in your will to leave your assets to a charity if you have no family rather than have the government take them?
I think this is a book every Canadian should read to prepare for their retirement and beyond.
Since the book was printed, the government has changed some of the rules for their benefits (for example, if you were born after January 1, 1962, you won't receive Old Age Security until you are 67 rather than 65). So you should check the government's website for the up-to-date rules.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2013/03...
It's amazing the amount of people I talk with who aren't prepared .... they don't have a will, power of attorney, etc. This book is a good guide to tell you the things you should be doing along with worksheets, checklists, a glossary and a list of resources in the back.
None of us are looking forward to death but there are things you should do to put your affairs in order so when it does happen, your assets will be distributed the way you want them to be. All the provinces are different but here in Ontario, for example, if you die without a will and have:
* Spouse - all assets to spouse
* Spouse and relatives but no children - all assets to spouse
* Children only - all assets to children
* Spouse and one child - first $200,000 to spouse, rest split equally
* Spouse and children - first $200,000 to spouse, 1/3 of rest to spouse, 2/3 of rest to children
* No spouse or children - all assets to closest next of kin in this order: parents, brothers/sisters (if no parents), nephews/nieces (if no brothers/sisters) ... if no next of kin, the government gets your assets
Wouldn't it be better in your will to leave your assets to a charity if you have no family rather than have the government take them?
I think this is a book every Canadian should read to prepare for their retirement and beyond.
Since the book was printed, the government has changed some of the rules for their benefits (for example, if you were born after January 1, 1962, you won't receive Old Age Security until you are 67 rather than 65). So you should check the government's website for the up-to-date rules.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2013/03...
May 2, 2021
Easy to read and informative overview of the probate process, duties of an executor (or executrix), and basic tax laws around passing different asset types along to family and friends.
October 26, 2021
Decent guide, just not helpful for my situation. If you own property, have a family and a good amount of money to leave and to hire professionals, it’s for you.
May 28, 2011
This is such an excellent resource book that, once I had taken it out of the library and looked it over, I decided to definitely buy a copy for my own shelf. It contains a wealth of useful information that everyone needs in order to do an estate plan and decide on what to put in their will. There is information about things you need to understand if you're ever going to be the executor of someone else's will too.
There are a lot of things to consider when doing this type of planning and there are a lot of ways to waste money or inadvertently pay more tax to the government instead of bequeathing the money to the people of your choice. The best review is probably just a list of the Table of Contents so a person can judge for themselves if the topics covered are what they need:
Chapter 1: What is Estate Planning
Chapter 2: What Assets will you Have?
Chapter 3: Building your Estate
Chapter 4: Understanding Wills
Chapter 5: Understanding Powers of Attorney and Living Wills
Chapter 6: Understanding Trusts (this is a great one for people with dependents)
Chapter 7: Understanding the Probate Process
Chapter 8: Death and Taxes
Chapter 9: Dealing with the Tax Department and Estate Administration
Chapter 10: Tax Planning Strategies
Chapter 11: Tax and Estate Planning if you own U.S. Assets
Chapter 12: Vacation Properties
Chapter 13: The Family Business
Chapter 14: Charitable Giving and Philanthropy
Chapter 15: Life, Health, and Disability Insurance
Chapter 16: Selecting Professional Advisors
Chapter 17: Selecting Retirement Residences and Care Facilities
Chapter 18: Planning your Funeral
Appendices A Through D: sources of information, charts, checklists and samples
Glossary
There are a lot of things to consider when doing this type of planning and there are a lot of ways to waste money or inadvertently pay more tax to the government instead of bequeathing the money to the people of your choice. The best review is probably just a list of the Table of Contents so a person can judge for themselves if the topics covered are what they need:
Chapter 1: What is Estate Planning
Chapter 2: What Assets will you Have?
Chapter 3: Building your Estate
Chapter 4: Understanding Wills
Chapter 5: Understanding Powers of Attorney and Living Wills
Chapter 6: Understanding Trusts (this is a great one for people with dependents)
Chapter 7: Understanding the Probate Process
Chapter 8: Death and Taxes
Chapter 9: Dealing with the Tax Department and Estate Administration
Chapter 10: Tax Planning Strategies
Chapter 11: Tax and Estate Planning if you own U.S. Assets
Chapter 12: Vacation Properties
Chapter 13: The Family Business
Chapter 14: Charitable Giving and Philanthropy
Chapter 15: Life, Health, and Disability Insurance
Chapter 16: Selecting Professional Advisors
Chapter 17: Selecting Retirement Residences and Care Facilities
Chapter 18: Planning your Funeral
Appendices A Through D: sources of information, charts, checklists and samples
Glossary
December 28, 2019
Good overview with lots of information. Surprised there was no mention of TFSAs which lead me to the impression that while some information was updated, this edition is not as current as it could be.
Also the associated web sites have not been updated to this edition. Regardless this is a decent book on a topic not many folks want to read about!
Also the associated web sites have not been updated to this edition. Regardless this is a decent book on a topic not many folks want to read about!
October 13, 2019
I used this book as extra ammo while studying for the final CFP exam. It helped to review some concepts and solidify some others. It’s a great resource and I recommend it for many Canadians.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews