Estates and Trusts

Plan the management and the distribution of your assets, your way.

One Can Never Be Too Prepared

You work hard all your life to build a legacy for your loved ones and to support causes you care about. A comprehensive Estate Plan can provide peace of mind and ensure that your assets will be distributed according to your wishes.

You may also be named liquidator of an Estate. You want to fulfill that honour and your responsibilities, but it can be daunting and out of your comfort zone. To be more efficient and do things the right way, you may want to consider hiring professionals who have both experience and a network of resources to support you, no matter the task at hand.

Our Services

Will Review/Estate Planning and Consulting

Estate and trust planning during your lifetime ensures your assets will be managed and distributed according to your wishes, regardless of how your life circumstances evolve over time.

Depending on your situation, many tools, such as a will, mandate, and a family trust, are available to meet your personal and philanthropical goals during your lifetime and beyond. Above all, they will help provide sound guidance for your loved ones while they navigate an emotional time.

The greatest gift you can give your loved ones is a plan, and communicating that plan beforehand can alleviate distress for those you care for. More than 50% of Canadians do not have a will and often this is due to a misunderstanding of how your assets will be distributed by law if you die intestate. Intestacy does not consider personal circumstances, and without a will your loved ones may be left without adequate provision.

Equally important is a mandate, which allows an appointed individual who is trustworthy to manage your assets should you become temporarily or permanently incapacitated.

As a way to start the conversation, we are happy to review your current will, family trust and/or mandate. We will recommend changes if required and help you put all of your affairs in order. Our goal is to ensure that your will is direct on your last wishes, your mandate provides clear instruction should you not be able to act, and that your family trust reflects best how your assets should be managed on your behalf.

Our Planning and Consulting services include, but are not limited to, the following:

Reviewing your current will and mandates
Assisting you with the preparation of new wills, codicils and mandates
Preparing a personal balance sheet that summarizes your net worth for ease of reference for you and your liquidators

Estate and Trust planning is not static. As life events happen such as the arrival of a newborn in the family, the purchase of a business, a new life partnership arrangement, departure from Canada and more, you will want to review your existing plans.

Liquidator Services

If you want to ensure your named liquidators will be counseled by professionals who have both experience and a network of resources to support them, our liquidator services are the way to go.

Our executor services are comprehensive and include tasks such as:

Cancelling and changing utilities, service providers, and subscriptions
Gathering and evaluating financial assets
Managing and evaluating property such as vehicles and dwellings
Checking unclaimed balances
Redirecting mail via Canada Post
Communicating with local and foreign financial institutions
Managing beneficiary relationships

For transparency and governance purposes FL Fuller Landau will only consider acting as one of your named liquidators if at least two ADDITIONAL liquidators are also appointed in your will.

Agency Services

If you are appointed as a liquidator of an estate but lack the time or the skills to manage the administration on your own, FL Fuller Landau, while not appointed as liquidator in the will, can offer back-office support to help you with estate management. This includes tasks such as opening and closing bank and broker accounts, obtaining clearance certificates, and more.

Tax Services

In addition, rest assured that our Tax team has extensive experience in:

Preparing and filing of the deceased’s final personal tax return and ongoing estate tax returns
Preparing and filling of clearance certificates

Estate Management 101 Checklist

For a condensed version of steps we can help you with, which include tasks such as:

Managing administrative tasks on behalf of the named liquidator such as cancelling utilities, publishing articles on the Registre des droits personnel et réels mobiliers, and redirecting mail and payments
Consulting with the named liquidator on an as-needed basis
Providing the liquidator with useful checklists and resources

CONSULT OUR CHECKLIST

What Our Clients Think

“Their attention to details and style left me confident”

I have been involved with FL Fuller Landau’s Managing Partner and Tax department since 2016, as co-executor of two family estates. Their estates and trusts knowledge, combined with timely and effective tax planning have been a huge support. Their leadership in settling our family estates along with their desk-side manner are caring and empathetic. While they provide guidance and leadership to settle estates in a timely and efficient manner, their attention to details and style left me confident we were in the best hands possible.

“We have been with FL’s team ever since”

After an unfortunate and untimely loss in our family in 2013, the team at FL Fuller Landau began working closely with our family on all estate-related matters including taxation, cash flow management, and support and guidance on family financial matters. We have been with FL’s team ever since. Their planning, execution and timely service is delivered with a personal and empathetic style that makes me feel comfortable and well taken care of.

Glossary of Terms

Beneficiary

A person who will derive advantage from the trust or will.

Clearance Certificate

A certificate that confirms that an estate of a deceased person has paid all taxes, interest, and penalties owed and allows the Liquidator to distribute assets without the risk of being personally liable for amounts the deceased may owe to the government.

Codicil

A legal document used to make a minor change to a will.

Estate

An estate is the property owned by an individual at the time of their death. It can also refer to the aggregate of an individual’s assets.

Estate Return

A tax return prepared for an Estate, also referred to as a T3 Return in Canada, or a TP-646 Return in the province of Quebec.

Intestate

When an individual dies without a will.

Liquidator

A person who is charged with the administration of an Estate, usually by nomination in a will. This terminology is most commonly used in Québec, however a Liquidator is sometimes referred to as an Executor, Trustee, Legal Representative, or Estate Administrator

Mandate

An official document an individual can use to designate an individual or individuals to look after their property in the event they become temporarily or permanently incapable. In other jurisdictions this is often referred to as a Power of Attorney.

Trust

A fiduciary arrangement whereby a grantor gives a trustee the right to hold title of property on behalf of beneficiaries.

Trustee

An individual who has the power to hold title to property and/or assets on behalf of a Trust’s beneficiaries.

Will

A legal document that outlines an individual’s wishes as to how their property is to be distributed after their death. In Quebec, a will drawn up by a notary, often referred to as a notarized will, is the recommended format.

Sara Halickman

CPA

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Peter-Joseph Moraitis

CPA

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Bardia Afzali

B. Eng., LL. B., M. Tax.

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Ernest R. Furt

CPA, TEP

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Amanda Khoury

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Estates and Trusts

One Can Never Be Too Prepared

Our Services

Estate Management 101 Checklist

For a condensed version of steps we can help you with, which include tasks such as:

What Our Clients Think

Glossary of Terms