Estate Planning Toronto - Lester de Souza

ESTATE PLANNING IS SOMETHING YOU NEVER WANT TO DISCUSS,

but is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your life. What would happen if you were to die tomorrow? What would happen to your belongings, your home or more importantly, your children? At De Souza’s, we firmly believe that estate planning is the single most important thing you can do as a parent to ensure your child is cared for. It is also important to establish what you would like done in a situation where you become unable to make decisions for yourself, and appoint an executor to your estate.

Estate planning can help establish, in the event of your death:

What would happen to your children
What would happen to any adult dependants
How your debts would be settled
Where your assets would be distributed

As a caring person, you will establish a plan to manage everything you value for your loved ones. A plan should at least include a will to ensure that your loved ones are protected.

Your estate planning package can include:

Will Drafting
Establishing Trusts
Tax Planning
Drafting of Living Wills and Advance Medical Directives
Naming Powers of Attorney
Business Succession Planning
Appointment of Trustees

Should anything happen to you, you will already have designated who will care for your children until they become legal adults. You can also decide who will manage your money for your children until they reach adulthood and beyond. For privacy and greater reliability, consider using trusts along with your will in your estate planning.

The key difference between a trust and a will is that a will goes into effect only when you die, while a trust becomes active when it is signed. A trust can be established used to distribute your assets before death, and can have provisions for after your death as well. You would designate one person, usually a bank or a law firm, as your “trustee,” and another as your beneficiary, who will receive income from the trust.

You should use a will to name a guardian for your loved ones, and specify your funeral arrangements. You can also compound your protection in your estate planning with a trust to designate specifically what you would like done with your assets.

Estate planning is essential to secure your legacy.
Let us help you protect your family with our estate planning services.
For your free consultation, call us today at 416 479 0547 or click here.