C R E A T E A L E G A C Y
S p e c i a l F e a t u r e
Owen, Age 13, Leukemia
I wish to go to Bermuda!
We grant wishes
because wishes
change lives.
MAKE-A-WISH
®
BC & YUKON
www.makeawishbc.ca
604.688.7944
bcchapter@makeawish.ca
Leave a legacy
of HOPE
Relying On The Experts
After spending a lifetime building
a business, accumulating wealth
and protecting one's assets, seeking
professional advice on gifting after death
makes a lot of sense.
A good lawyer can plot strategies that
will best preserve the assets that fuel your
legacy. For example, Ingrid Tsui, partner
and leader of Alexander Holburn Beaudin +
Lang LLP's Wills, Estates + Trusts practice,
often advises business-owner clients to
undertake "dual" will planning. B.C. estates
are subject to 1.4-per-cent probate fees and
the typical delays and public disclosure of
assets that comes with applying for probate.
A dual will plan can result in the Canadian
private company avoiding all of this.
The savings will generally o‡set the
additional legal fees associated with
preparing a second Will. But there are other
advantages to this strateˆy apart from it
being a solution to the 1.4-per-cent probate
fee issue and asset dissemination delays:
"Applying for probate also causes a loss
of privacy, because estate assets and their
values are listed in the Šled documents,
which are publicly accessible," says Tsui.
There are certain criteria which the will-
maker must implement in order for a dual
Will structure to work, including selecting
di‡erent executors to act under each Will.
Tsui's message is that business owners
should take the time and necessary steps to
consider the best plan possible.
Another element that can negatively
impact the creation of a legacy—and
something that can be easily rectiŠed—is
the tendency of people to avoid the services
of lawyers or notaries and undertake their
own estate planning.
Elyssa Lockhart, partner at McQuarrie
Hunter
LLP, says: "People think they may
be streamlining the legal process and saving
money by taking steps to avoid the probate
process; often after the death of a spouse, a
surviving partner adds one or more of his or
her children to their assets as joint owners—
and that's when the trouble begins."
Over time, these new owners can
become proprietary about assets—
preventing parents from selling,
reinvesting, and using them freely.
"Incidences of this occurring seem to be
increasing, and while legal steps can be
taken to rectify the Šnancial situation,
litigation doesn't resolve the bitterness
created within the family," says Lockhart.
McQuarrie's commitment to the
communities it serves runs deep, and this
year marks its 50th anniversary. Its legal
team is especially motivated to helping
companies and individuals avoid the
many hazards stemming from substituting
simple solutions for comprehensive legal
advice. "In terms of the legal landscape,
most do not appreciate its intricacies," says
Lockhart. "Simply put, people don't know
what they don't know."
Lockhart points out that jointures
don't necessarily save families money. She
explains: "If you list a child who doesn't
live on your property as a joint owner, it is
treated as an investment in their hands and
