Wills & Estate Planning For Canadians For Dummies (eBook)

JoAnn Kurtz is a Toronto-based lawyer, educator, and author. She carried on a general practice before joining Seneca College, where she was the program coordinator of the Law Clerk Diploma program for many years. She is the author or co-author of many general interest and academic texts. She holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Estate Planning Basics 5

Chapter 1: What Is Estate Planning, Anyway? 7

Chapter 2: What Are You Worth? Preparing an Inventory of Your Estate 17

Chapter 3: The Taxman Cometh: Taxes and Your Estate 23

Part 2: Estate Planning Tools 55

Chapter 4: The Mysteries of Life Insurance Revealed 57

Chapter 5: Giving Away Your Things Before You Die 81

Chapter 6: Using Trusts in Estate Planning 93

Part 3: Creating an Estate Plan 111

Chapter 7: Choosing Your Beneficiaries and Executor 113

Chapter 8: Planning Your Children's Future 127

Chapter 9: What to Do with Your Business 141

Chapter 10: Making Charitable Donations 155

Chapter 11: Planning Your Funeral and Organ Donation 173

Part 4: Putting Your Plan into Action 191

Chapter 12: Why You Need a Will 193

Chapter 13: Will Power 203

Chapter 14: Powers of Attorney: Who'll Manage Your Money for You if You Can't? 233

Chapter 15: Living Wills: Caring for You If You Can't Care for Yourself 247

Chapter 16: Getting Professional Help 261

Chapter 17: Using Online Will Services 281

Part 5: Readying Your Estate and Keeping It Up to Date 289

Chapter 18: Don't Leave a Mess Behind: Putting Your Affairs in Order 291

Chapter 19: It's Even Better the Second Time Around: Updating Your Estate Plan 303

Part 6: The Part of Tens 319

Chapter 20: Ten Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Lawyer 321

Chapter 21: Ten Tips for Using the Internet for Estate Planning 325

Part 7: Appendixes 329

Appendix A: Prepare to Meet Your Lawyer 331

Appendix B: Instructions for Your Executor 341

Appendix C: Inventory for Your Executor 347

Index 351