Your Trusted Wills Lawyer in Toronto
Protect What Matters Most. Provide for Those You Love.
The decision to work with a Toronto wills lawyer to prepare your Last Will and Testament and your Power of Attorney for Personal Care (or Living Will) is an important step in managing your family’s financial and legal affairs.
A valid, carefully planned Will helps protect your family’s future. It ensures your assets are distributed as you choose, reduces exposure to unnecessary taxation, and limits probate fees payable by your Estate.
Your Power of Attorney for Personal Care empowers one or more trusted individuals to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to provide informed consent. This document is often as essential as your Will.
Wise Law’s wills lawyers in Toronto work closely with clients and, where appropriate, their accountants and financial advisors to develop effective, individualized estate plans.
Since 1986, the Toronto wills lawyers at Wise Law have assisted countless individuals and families in preparing Wills and Powers of Attorney. We also represent clients in contested estate litigation matters throughout Toronto and Ontario.
Our service is discreet, confidential, and cost-effective. Initial telephone consultations are available without fee or obligation.
Contact Wise Law’s Toronto Wills Lawyers
Telephone: (416) 972-1800
Email: gwise@wiselaw.net
Preparing Your Will: Preliminary Considerations
Important decisions must be made before your Will is finalized:
- Who will act as your Executor and Alternate Executor?
- How should your estate be divided?
- Are there specific items or heirlooms requiring special provision?
- Do you own assets that will require planning or oversight?
- If you have minor children, who should be named as guardian(s)?
- At what age should beneficiaries receive their bequests?
Your wills and estates lawyer in Toronto will guide you through these questions and help you prepare a clear, enforceable Will that meets your intentions.
Wills – Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer to prepare my Will?
A Will is relatively inexpensive to prepare with legal assistance. Errors in a do-it-yourself Will can delay or invalidate estate administration and cause unnecessary legal and financial complications.
For a Will to be accepted by the Ontario Superior Court’s Estate Office, witnesses must typically have completed sworn affidavits. A lawyer will normally act as witness and complete this documentation at the time your Will is signed. Without these affidavits, your Will may be rejected during probate.
What happens if I die without a Will?
If you die without a valid Will, Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act determines how your estate is divided. This process, known as intestacy, may not reflect your wishes.
For example:
- A surviving spouse is entitled to the first $200,000 of your estate.
- If you have one child, the remainder is divided 50/50.
- With two or more children, your spouse receives one-third, and the remainder is divided equally among the children.
If you have no spouse or children, your estate may pass to parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, or other relatives, depending on who survives you.
The Family Law Act may further complicate matters, allowing a surviving spouse to elect to receive property under matrimonial division rules instead of intestacy provisions.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning involves structuring your financial affairs to minimize tax, protect your assets, and ensure your estate is administered efficiently. Your estate planning lawyer may work with your accountant and financial planner to reduce taxes and fees owed by your estate and beneficiaries.
Effective planning can:
- Reduce estate administration taxes
- Limit capital gains tax on investments
- Maximize your estate’s value to your beneficiaries
Why update a Will prepared before 1986?
Ontario’s Family Law Act, enacted in 1986, allows you to protect inheritances from division in the event a beneficiary divorces. Wills created before this date often lack such clauses. Without this protection, a former spouse may be entitled to a portion of the inheritance. All older Wills should be reviewed for compliance.
Power of Attorney for Personal Care
Under the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, a Power of Attorney for Personal Care allows you to designate someone to make healthcare and personal care decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
Without this document, your family may need to apply to the Consent and Capacity Board for authority to make medical decisions. This can delay urgent care and remove decision-making from those you trust most.
Your Power of Attorney may include specific instructions, such as limits on life-sustaining treatment in cases with no reasonable chance of recovery.
At Wise Law, we often prepare this document alongside your Will and recommend reviewing both every three years. Your attorney must be at least 16 years of age and may not be someone currently receiving compensation for providing you with healthcare services.
Wills and Powers of Attorney – Our Fees
- Simple, individual Last Will and Testament: $500
- Mutual (Spousal) Wills: $800 for both spouses
- Power of Attorney for Personal Care or for Property: $250
- Both Powers of Attorney: $350
All fees are subject to HST. Additional fees apply in complex matters.
Contact a Wills Lawyer in Toronto
We’re here to help with practical, professional guidance in preparing your Will or Power of Attorney.