You must make provision for your dependants – your legal or common law spouse, parents, children and siblings.
There may be other restrictions on your freedom to dispose of your estate. For example, you may have a marriage contract or a separation agreement requiring that support to be paid to your spouse or former spouse following your death, or a court order that requires you to do so. You may be a party to a buy-sell agreement with a business associate which provides for the transfer of your interest in the business in the event of death.
How to distribute your estate?
Immediate distribution
After you have provided for the payment of your debts, the distribution of your personal effects and the payment of cash legacies, you may wish to provide for the immediate distribution of the remainder of your estate to one or more people.
Delayed distribution
If you have minor beneficiaries, dependents with special needs, a surviving spouse that is not able to manage the estate without assistance or a child that will not be mature enough at age eighteen to handle a large sum of money, you can establish a trust in your will.
With a trust you can direct your executors to hold your estate in trust for the beneficiaries. For example, it is common to provide that a child’s share be held for his or her benefit until the child attains a specific age, and to give the executors the discretion to use the funds being held in trust for the benefit of the child until he or she attains that age.
Many factors must be taken into account when you are deciding whether or not to establish a trust, including the size of your estate, the ages of your beneficiaries and how responsible and/or capable they are, and any special needs, such as medical or educational, which your dependants and beneficiaries may have.
Need more information? Contact us at wills@sutherlandlaw.ca