Estate Planning and Trusts

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Our highly skilled estate and trust professionals offer estate settlement and administration services, trustee services, trust structures, and other specialized services throughout Canada. We work with families and businesses who wish to protect their assets and transfer their wealth for generations.

To plan for success of an individual requires knowledge to ensure the client’s best interests are considered. We work with the client’s lawyer to provide detailed evaluation of the tax consequences of death and ensure that the maximum amount of the estate is preserved for the benefit of the surviving family members.

What Is a Trust?
A trust is a legal document that permits you and your successor trustee to transfer assets (such as property) prior to and after your death. It is typically composed of four main components:

  • Grantor: This is the person that sets up the trust
  • Trustee and Successor Trustee: This is the person(s) or entity that will follow your wishes as per the trust document (manage your trust) upon your death
  • Property: These are the items, money or physical property that makes up the trust
  • Beneficiaries: These are the individuals or organizations that will benefit from your trust assets

You can add specific requirements such as restrictions on distributions, attainment of certain goals for beneficiaries to receive trust property, and payment and replacement of the successor trustee under certain conditions. The four sections above are the general “must have” pieces of the trust document.