Recorded on: November 26, 2024
Length: 60 minutes
Summary
When it comes to estate planning, your will covers some — but not all — of your assets. Lawyer Julia Norman answers common questions about property that passes outside your will, the interplay with taxes and probate fees, and how to weigh options such as joint ownership and trusts.
Highlights
In this webinar, you will learn:
Estate and non-estate assets
Which assets are included — and not included — in an estate, and which ones go through probate. [3:05]
Whether prepaid funeral expenses must be included in a will. [7:05]
Designated beneficiaries
The pros and cons, from a planning perspective, of having designated beneficiaries for registered accounts. [8:00]
Whether a designated beneficiary can be removed from a life insurance policy through a will or whether the policy itself must be updated. [14:10]
The best way — from a tax perspective — to dispose of a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) and tax-free savings account (TFSA) if you do not have a spouse or children. [15:25]
Whether designated beneficiaries of a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and tax-free savings account (TFSA) must live in Canada and be Canadian. [16:50]
Join ownership of property
The pros and cons of adding one of your children to your bank account. [17:55]
The difference between owning a home in joint tenancy and tenancy-in-common, including how it affects a will. [22:40]
Whether a home owned by spouses as tenants-in-common will need to go through probate when one of them dies. [25:00]
The pros and cons of adding one of your children to the title of your home. [27:40]
Where a parent has added their children to the title of their home, and the children do not live in the home, whether there’s a way to avoid triggering capital gains tax when the parent dies. [30:05]
Trusts
The different types of trusts available, when it makes sense to use trusts, and whether putting assets in a trust is more cost effective than putting them in a will. [31:20]
The types of conditions that can be put on assets held in trust for a family member. [36:25]
Whether a trust is a viable option for leaving money to a relative with Down syndrome without disqualifying them from other means of support, and where to find more information about leaving money to someone with a disability. [37:10]
Live questions
Where an executor can free up funds for estate expenses while awaiting probate. [39:15]
Where one of four adult children has built a home on a part of their parents’ property, how the parents can allow that child to stay there after they die, while also being fair to their other three children. [40:30]
Whether there’s tax on a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) once it goes through probate. [42:20]
Whether money gifted to a child that is not documented as a gift becomes receivable to the estate. [43:10]
When a family home would need to go through probate. [43:55]
Whether a joint account with someone other than a spouse or dependent child becomes part of the estate. [45:00]
Whether a high interest savings account is a registered account that can pass outside of the will via a beneficiary designation. [46:05]
Whether there’s anything wrong with gifting everything to your children before you die. [46:20]
Whether you can have designated beneficiaries on accounts other than registered accounts. [46:50]
Whether paying off the mortgage on your home before you die would make it easier for your children when the home passes to them after your death. [47:25]
Whether a parent who has added their children to the title of their home can undo that decision to avoid a possible capital gains tax bill. [48:50]
Whether the tax liability of an estate is calculated before or after the probate fees. [51:15]
Whether a notice of application for probate needs to be given to a deceased’s siblings, where the deceased doesn’t have a living spouse, children or parents. [52:10]
What a bare trust is. [54:00]
Featuring
Julia Norman
Julia Norman is a lawyer with Pushor Mitchell. She practices in the areas of estate and trust planning, where she prepares wills, trusts, representation agreements and powers of attorney for her clients, as well as estate litigation, where she acts for plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of estate and property disputes. Julia is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Attendee feedback
“The presenter Julia Norman was extremely knowledgeable and engaging.”
"It is great that you offer these free short sessions; very informative and concise!"
“Thank you so much for Julia Norman & Paula Price — very well done — I have learned A LOT!!”
“Great information, presented in an organized, thoughtful manner by a well prepared lawyer.”
“Julia Norman was excellent. Knowledgeable, explained clearly!”
“The lawyer who shared her talents was an excellent communicator. She was definitely very knowledgeable and used language and excellent examples to clearly provide ways to best hold title to various assets. I could have listened to this speaker for an additional hour."
“The webinar was packed with useful, clear and enlightening information. Thank you to the speaker and the host who both did a wonderful job. THANK YOU! I really deeply appreciate what you are doing for the community."
"Keep up your good work; much appreciated. My first ever webinar I have ever listened to. I was quite pleased that with the help of your very clear directions about how to set up Zoom, I could watch your presentation. I was more than pleased with learning how to do this."
“Thank you so much Julia & Paula for this helpful workshop. I have learned so much.😘”
Additional resources
From People’s Law School:
Also:
Disability Assistance and Trusts, a booklet from the BC government that explains trusts for people with disabilities receiving disability assistance