Thursday, December 09, 2004
Multiple Wills may be a useful planning tool for your estate
Upon a review of your estate assets, it may become apparent that your estate would benefit from the drafting of multiple wills.
Often, if a testator has property in more than one jurisdiction, he or she may determine that it is best to have one will for each jurisdiction. Care must be taking to co-ordinate the drafting of these wills, to ensure that all of the property, worldwide, is given away and that one will does not, unwittingly, revoke the other will.
There are other circumstances where more than one will may be drafted, in Ontario, to deal with assets located in Ontario. An example will be where the testator is the owner of shares in a private corporation. Let's assume that the value of these shares is $5,000,000.00. If this value is part of the estate for the calculation of Estate administration Tax, the estate would have to pay tax of approximately $75,000.00.
What can be done is to draft one will for the shares in the private corporation and a second will (which is the will that will be submitted to the Court for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will). You will pay Estate Administration Tax only on the assets governed by the second will. Generally, the shares in the private corporation can be dealt with without the necessity of obtaining the Court issued certificate of appointment.
Multiple wills make sense in this case.
Often, if a testator has property in more than one jurisdiction, he or she may determine that it is best to have one will for each jurisdiction. Care must be taking to co-ordinate the drafting of these wills, to ensure that all of the property, worldwide, is given away and that one will does not, unwittingly, revoke the other will.
There are other circumstances where more than one will may be drafted, in Ontario, to deal with assets located in Ontario. An example will be where the testator is the owner of shares in a private corporation. Let's assume that the value of these shares is $5,000,000.00. If this value is part of the estate for the calculation of Estate administration Tax, the estate would have to pay tax of approximately $75,000.00.
What can be done is to draft one will for the shares in the private corporation and a second will (which is the will that will be submitted to the Court for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will). You will pay Estate Administration Tax only on the assets governed by the second will. Generally, the shares in the private corporation can be dealt with without the necessity of obtaining the Court issued certificate of appointment.
Multiple wills make sense in this case.
posted by Robert at 3:47 PM
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