The sad reality is that sooner or later everyone dies. And no matter how organized you are, after your passing, someone else has to step in and take care of your responsibilities. So how do you let the world know who should take care of your affairs, and what they should do? Make a will.
What is a Will? “A person’s will is a written document that sets out the person’s wishes about how his or her estate should be taken care of and distributed after death. It takes effect when the person dies”.
What is an Estate? “An estate is the property that a person owns or has a legal interest in. The term is often used to describe the assets and liabilities left by a person after death”. An estate includes your bank account, investments of all kinds, real estate, car, and all your other “stuff”.
What is an Estate Trustee? (also know as Estate executor or Estate administrator) “An estate trustee is the only person with the legal authority to manage or distribute an estate”. An estate trustee is responsible for paying off your debts, cancelling your phone plan, cable or satellite account, selling your house or cancelling your rental, cancelling your utility accounts, cleaning out all your closets, cupboards, filing cabinets, closing your investment accounts, filing your tax returns, and eventually distributing your cash and belongings to your beneficiaries, according to the wishes you set out in your will. They pretty much have to take care of everything you would have taken care of yourself, but are no longer there to do so. The list may actually be much longer than the examples listed above.
What is Probate? “Probate is a procedure to ask the court to: give a person the authority to act as the estate trustee of an estate; or confirm the authority of a person named as the estate trustee in the deceased’s will”.
What is a beneficiary? A beneficiary (also known as an heir) is someone to whom some or all of the assets of the deceased are gifted. Definitions in quotation marks are taken from The Ministry of the Attorney General Ontario website.
Feel free to check out their site for more detail: https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/glossary/
In the weeks to come we will help you understand these definitions in more detail.
Karin Rimnyak, Certified Financial Planner®
Investment Advisor
Insurance Advisor, Action Financial Group Ltd.
David Dryburgh, Certified Financial Planner®
Investment Advisor
Insurance Advisor, Action Financial Group Ltd.
Ian Barrie, Certified Financial Planner®
Investment Advisor
Insurance Advisor, Action Financial Group Ltd.
This information has been prepared by Karin Rimnyak who is an investment Advisor for iA Private Wealth. Opinions expressed in this email are those of the Investment Advisor only and do not necessarily reflect those of iA Private Wealth. iA private Wealth Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. iA Private Wealth is a trademark and business name under which iA Private Wealth Inc. operates.
