3. Review if your estate trustee’s situation has changed
Question & Answer
When should I update my will?The person who deals with your after you die is called an .
Your estate trustee has to do things like:
- arrange your funeral and burial or cremation
- stop payments that end when you die, like Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, social assistance, and disability insurance payments
- find and value all in your estate
- apply for if needed
- pay any taxes and that you owe
- file your tax returns
- distribute your property based on what your will says
Estate trustees are also called executors, estate representatives, personal representatives, estate administrators, or liquidators.
It's a good idea to see if you still want the person you named in your will to be your estate trustee. And if they're still willing and able to do the work. For example, your estate trustee may be in poor health now and no longer able to do the work.
Or, your estate trustee's situation may have changed since you named them in your will. They may not live in Ontario or Canada now.
It's usually easier for a person living in Ontario to take care of your estate. An estate trustee who lives outside Canada may also need to pay a bond.
A bond is an amount of money that's usually double the value of the estate.
A bond protects anyone who has to get something from your estate in case the estate trustee does not manage your property properly.
Talk to your estate trustee and see if they're still willing to do the work. If they are not, you'll have to think of another person.
Also think about choosing a person to be your second choice as an estate trustee. If your first choice dies or is not able or willing to do the work after you die, then your second choice can do it.
Divorced
If you named your partner to be your estate trustee and you later divorced, they can no longer be your estate trustee.
Separated
You might have named your married partner as your estate trustee in your will and later from them. If you're still separated when you die, they cannot be your estate trustee if one of the following is true:
- you separated on or after January 1, 2022, and have been separated for at least 3 years
- you got a separation agreement, arbitration agreement, or court order that resolved all your family law issues on or after January 1, 2022
This only applies if you named them as estate trustee in your will.
If you want your married partner to be your estate trustee when you die, even if you're separated from them, talk to a lawyer.
More than one estate trustee
If you name more than one person to be estate trustee, it's a good idea to say how decisions about your property should be made. For example, say:
- if you want all the estate trustees to agree on every decision, or,
- which one can decide if they do not agree.
If the will does not say anything, then all estate trustees must agree on everything.
