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Question #7 Should I plan to avoid probate?
Answer: Probate rarely benefits your beneficiaries and it always costs them money and time. Probate may make sense if your estate will have complicated problems, such as debts that can’t easily be paid from the property you leave. Whether to spend your time and effort planning to avoid probate depends on a number of factors.
If you’re young and in good health, a simple will may be all your need – adopting a complex probate avoidance plan now may mean you’ll have to re-do it as your life situation changes. And if you have very little property, you might not want to spend your time planning to avoid probate.
If you are older, in ill health or own a significant amount of property, you’ll probably want to do some planning to avoid probate. Probate saving strategies can be complex and may require a lawyer to ensure your property is distributed the way you want; and to avoid income tax issues.
Settling an Estate
The deceased remains a legal entity through their estate – the assets, debts and obligations
of the individual need to be settled.
Survivor Benefits
The sites listed here all provide some form of survivor benefits to the estates of qualifying individuals following a death, or assistance with the accurate and timely completion of the necessary forms and documents to maximize government and corporate benefits after the death of a loved one, as well as help in returning all identification documents, thus limiting the opportunity for identity theft.
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
www.wsib.on.ca
Peacehold After-Care Specialists
www.peacehold.com
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) –
www.hrsdc.gc.ca
Veterans Affairs Canada, Services and Benefits
www.veterans.gc.ca
Employment Insurance, Compassionate Care Benefits
www.servicecanada.gc.ca
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KETTLE VALLEY MEMORIAL SERVICES