How to make my wife my trustee / estate / beneficiary | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

Save2Retire@55 said
Great points about the mental disability and guardianship. If I understood correctly, we need to have both Power of Attorney and a Will to cover all scenarios.

Nobody knows where they will die but I know the money is in Canada with most banks' main HQ in ON or Quebec so it needs to be valid in Canada.

I've never dealt with lawyers so that's another thing I need to look at to get this sorted out.  

And in most, if not all, provinces, a health directive (different names in different provinces) about who makes life decisions for you (health, where you would live, etc) and what your wishes would be in certain circumstances, e.g.'not to be kept alive by artificial means', etc. These directives are highly effective in end-of-life situations. Two years ago, it came into play very effectively with my mother... in terms of how the hospital/doctors dealt with the last few days of her life.

Your Will, if properly done, will "work" in all of Canada, as far as I know.

There are "official" provincial POA kits available - for example here's a link to Ontario's, both for property and personal care:
https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/pgt/poakit.php

There are also lots of sample Wills online, you can review them and figure out what common wordings there are and write your own. There's also info online about Will witness rules. Reading enough samples of Wills and the POA kits will give you a good idea of what needs to be covered and how to construct your own documents.

I'd be more concerned about documenting in Wills or POA's who's agreed to raise your kids, and how they're going to be compensated vs what's going to be left to your kids when they're adults, if you and the wife both die or become incapacitated.

If you die without a Will your province of residence determines who gets your assets and in your case in some form or another it would all go to your wife and kids, whoever's still alive. But in your case, with minor children, I don't think it's a good idea to die without a Will.

If your situation is straightforward then you can easily do your own, with a bit of research, time and effort. I've always done my own and my spouse's.

I'm giving you these ideas because I'm pretty sure most of the advice you get here will focus on all the possible problems writing your own documents might cause (and that advice is good, I'm not saying they're not legitimate concerns) but it's my view that if your situation is pretty straightforward and there aren't other relatives in the shadows that you think might step forward and declare you told them they were getting your assets then you might consider, just consider, that it's quite possible to do your own. But for sure, if you're not up to doing your own research and legwork, etc, by all means go to a lawyer. Again, my priority in your case would be guardianship of the kids and what portion of your assets go to the guardians for raising them vs what's to be left from the estate for the kids own use when they turn 18. (Naturally, make sure ahead of time the potential guardians are on the same page as you.)

I trust if I gave some bad advice here I'll be corrected - thank you in advance!

I have never lived in Quebec, but I visit there often and have friends there, and 2 friends who are members of the Quebec bar. I have only discussed these issues with them in a very casual way, just enough to know that things are different there.

Quebec law is different from the rest of the country. As I understand it, it has something to do with the Napoleonic Code, which is the foundation of some QC law, just as the common law is the foundation of much British law that we are familiar with. Law school takes an entire extra year in QC because of this. I know it affects marriage rules, and i think it affects wills.

In any event, if I lived in Quebec, I would most definitely consult a local lawyer.

Loonie said
Quebec law is different from the rest of the country. As I understand it, it has something to do with the Napoleonic Code, which is the foundation of some QC law, just as the common law is the foundation of much British law that we are familiar with. Law school takes an entire extra year in QC because of this. I know it affects marriage rules, and i think it affects wills.

Québec has a civil law system in contrast to the common law systems of other provinces.

Under civil law, court rulings aren't binding on subsequent cases. Under common law, a court ruling binds judges in subsequent cases unless the ruling is overturned by a higher court. The principle is called stare decisis.

Most of the differences in Québec aren't because of their civil law system. It is because Québec has different laws.

Save2Retire@50, here's another link that gives info re Quebec:
https://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/wills

It'll answer your questions about witnesses.

I'm guessing you can stipulate in your Will that the kids' inheritance amounts stay in trust until an age you specify, but I'm not 100% sure. But maybe it's not an issue, at age 18 their guardians will have been their "parents" and likely will continue to act as such for a while longer at least. That's one reason it's very important who you pick as guardians and that you feel confident you've come to a common understanding with them about the use of the estate assets. The assets will stay in trust for the use of and inheritance by the children - it can be a idea to make the trustee of the trust someone other than the guardian, if you want to make sure appropriate amounts go to the guardians for raising the kids and also leave enough for the kids to inherit as adults.