The Estate Plan

by Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI

Keill & Associate- Senior Wealth Advisor/ Portfolio Manager

If your goal is to live forever, congratulations, so far so good. Of course, it goes without saying if history is any indication: the wheels are going to fall off your forever buggy and you are going to die. This is the truth and as the saying goes, you can't avoid two things: death and taxes. This Brief Discussion Paper will look at the essence and the benefits of having a well thought-out estate plan.

What is an Estate Plan?

Let’s start off with what it is not. It is not a Will, although a Will is an important legal estate document in a well-structured Estate Plan. It is not a Power of Attorney (POA), although this too is a very important legal document in planning. It is also not simply having your spouse joint on the house, or your children listed as beneficiaries to your investment accounts.

An Estate Plan is a premeditated strategy to ensure the efficient and easy transfer of wealth to the intended beneficiaries as it meets the personal wishes of the individual. This involves a multitude of options and possibilities that attempt to reduce costs, ease administration, and avoid conflicts with family, stakeholders, and the government.

Benefits to having a well thought out Estate Plan:

Creating an estate plan is important for several reasons:

• Control Over Asset Distribution: An Estate Plan allows you to decide who will inherit your assets, such as property, savings, and personal belongings. Without an estate plan or Will, Provincial laws get to determine how your assets are distributed, which might not reflect your wishes. This is known as the Table of Consanguinity. If no blood related heirs can be found in the far-reaching Table of Consanguinity, the proceeds of the deceased Estate could revert back to the government in a process known as Escheat.

• Minimize Taxes and Expenses: A well-structured Estate Plan can help reduce estate taxes and legal costs, ensuring more of your wealth goes to your beneficiaries. The Estate Plan attempts to reduce-but seldom eliminates taxes or estate settlement costs.

• Protect Beneficiaries: If you have minor children, an estate plan allows you to appoint guardians to care for them in the event of your death. You can also set up trusts to manage the inheritance of minors and beneficiaries who may need help handling large sums of money. Protecting beneficiaries might also include structuring your affairs so that your intended beneficiaries do not become disqualified for certain government subsidies they would otherwise be entitled to.

• Avoid Probate: Probate is the legal process of validating a will for the purpose of settling the affairs and estate of the deceased. This can be a lengthy and costly process. An estate plan can include various strategies to avoid or minimize probate costs. In Ontario, probate is referred to as the Estate Administration Tax, the cost of which is 1.5% for estate assets above $50,000.

• Health and Financial Decision- Making: Estate plans often include two important and similar documents; the Power of Attorney, which follows the Substitute Decisions Act. The two versions of the POA are POA for Property and POA for Health Care. The documents ensure that someone you trust can make financial or medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Failure to elect a POA will require an application (with costs) to the court, or the Office of the Public Guardian will step in.

• Reduce Family Conflict: Clearly outlining your wishes in an Estate Plan can prevent disputes among family members after your passing, reducing the potential for legal battles or strained relationships. Money does strange things to even the closest families. Many times it is not about greed but merely a conflict on what each believes was the actual intention of the deceased. Not only does conflict bring many families into turmoil, it can end up costing the beneficiaries in legal fees and costs due to delayed resolution of the estate.

• Charitable Giving: If you wish to leave a portion of your estate to charity, an estate plan allows you to designate specific organizations and causes that are meaningful to you. Gifting through your Will can also have some significant benefits from a tax point of view.

Seven Steps To Create an Efficient Estate Plan

• Take Inventory: Review what you have in assets and liabilities. In other words, write down what you own and what you owe. This results in your personal Net Worth Statement. It is a snapshot of your wealth at a particular point in time.

• Define your Estate Goals: Once you have taken inventory of your wealth, decide what you would like to see happen with your wealth once the debts are paid off and the taxes settled. Writing it down in a clear well thought-out manner will make the next steps easier. 

• Consult Your Estate Team: Planning to fail is not what you would like to see. Make sure you engage professionals in Estate Law and Financial Planning. These individuals have a vast knowledge about succession Law, Family Law, Tax Law, and procedures that can help you achieve your objectives and clearly defined goals.

• Design your Estate Strategy: The Estate Strategy should be one that finds a balance between cost, complexity, and achieving your desired outcome.

• Document your Estate Strategy: Once you have your Estate Plan thought out, it is time to ensure your wishes are documented in the Estate Documents; that is your Will, POA, Estate Directory, and any corresponding Memorandums’ to the Will.

• Implementation: At this point with the Estate Documents in good order, it is time to ensure that all Beneficiary Elections are completed properly, Joint Accounts (if this is part of your strategy) are also correctly set up, and any other activities need to be completed.

• Review: As an Estate Plan is often completed but never finished, you will need to review and revise over time as things change. You may acquire or lose assets, beneficiaries, or other objectives. There is no set time period to review, but as a rule of thumb at least every three years unless major changes as noted above occur.

In essence, an estate plan gives you control over your legacy and ensures your loved ones are taken care of according to your wishes.

To get started on creating an efficient and effective Estate Plan for yourself, please feel welcome to reach out to our Wealth Advisory Team. We have the skills, experience, and expertise to help you design an estate strategy that is right for you and your family. We also maintain a number of Strategic Partners that help us complete much of the complimentary work required in the Estate Planning process.

Last Edit August 13, 2025