📝 Estate Planning Checklist (Ontario): What You Need to Know
Estate planning isn’t just for the wealthy. In Ontario, everyone — regardless of income or family size — should have a proper estate plan. It ensures that your wishes are respected, your assets are distributed efficiently, and your loved ones are protected from unnecessary legal headaches.
Whether you’re just starting out or reviewing your existing plan, this Ontario-specific checklist will walk you through the key elements.
🧭 1. Make or Update Your Will
A Will is the foundation of your estate plan. Without one, your estate will be distributed under Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act, which may not align with your wishes.
✔️ Appoint an Estate Trustee (Executor)
✔️ Name a Guardian for minor children
✔️ List all beneficiaries and their shares
✔️ Include specific gifts and directions for the estate residue
✔️ Ensure your Will is signed and witnessed correctly (two non-beneficiary witnesses required in Ontario)
🗝️ 2. Prepare Powers of Attorney
These documents protect you while you’re alive if you become mentally or physically incapable:
- Continuing Power of Attorney for Property: Manages finances and real estate
- Power of Attorney for Personal Care: Makes medical and personal care decisions on your behalf
Choose someone responsible and trustworthy for each role.
👪 3. Review Beneficiary Designations
Some assets bypass your Will entirely, including:
- RRSPs, RRIFs, and TFSAs
- RESP’s, RHOPS
- Life Insurance
- Pension Plans
- Deferred Profit Sharing Plans
Check that your beneficiary designations are up-to-date and coordinated with your Will.
🏠 4. Consider Joint Ownership
Joint ownership can help certain assets pass outside your estate, avoiding probate. But be cautious:
- Joint Tenancy: Includes right of survivorship
- Tenants-in-Common: Each owner has a divisible share
- With adult children, clearly document intention to avoid legal disputes later
👶 5. Plan for Minor Beneficiaries
Minors cannot legally receive inheritances directly. In your Will:
- Set up testamentary trusts
- Appoint a trustee to manage the funds
- Choose an appropriate age of distribution (e.g., 21 or 25)
💻 6. Organize Your Digital Assets
Modern estates include digital assets — think emails, social media, cryptocurrency, or online banking.
- List your accounts and passwords
- Appoint a digital executor
- Provide instructions on what to preserve or delete
🏢 7. Business and Real Estate Planning
If you own a business or real estate investments:
- Create a succession plan
- Review shareholder agreements
- Specify how business or rental properties should be managed, transferred, or sold
💰 8. Minimize Taxes and Probate Fees
In Ontario, probate fees (now known as the Estate Administration Tax) apply to many estates. Consider strategies to reduce them:
- Use multiple Wills for private company shares or art collections
- Consider inter vivos trusts
- Prepare for capital gains on secondary properties (e.g., cottages)
⚰️ 9. Express Funeral and Burial Wishes
While not legally binding in Ontario, it’s helpful to document:
- Your funeral preferences
- Whether you want burial or cremation
- If you wish to donate organs or tissues
These wishes should be shared with family and your executor.
🔐 10. Store Documents Securely
Make sure your important documents are:
- Stored in a secure but accessible place
- Your executor and attorneys know where to find them
- Optionally registered with OBA’s Will Check service
🔄 11. Review Regularly
Life changes — your plan should too. Review your estate documents:
- Every 3 to 5 years
- After marriage, divorce, birth, death, or large purchases
- When tax or estate laws change
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker