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What
Does a Will Accomplish?
Although everyone has good intentions, far
too many people die intestate, that is, without having made
a valid will. A will is the legal document that details the
process for distributing one’s assets (the estate) in
a timely, orderly and tax-efficient manner. Perhaps most importantly,
a will documents the manner in which the individual intended
to have the estate administered.
There are two main purposes of making a will.
The first is to document the intentions of the testator, the
person making the will, as to the choice of beneficiaries,
recipients of his / her assets. The second is to appoint the
executor (also known as a liquidator in Quebec and an estate
trustee in Ontario), whose role is to ensure creditors of
the deceased are paid and to disperse the deceased’s
assets according to his / her will.
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QUEBEC
RESIDENTS
The
province of Quebec follows laws set out under the Civil
Code of Quebec. This differs from the other provinces
in Canada, which are governed by common law principles.
Generally, the principles of estate planning (called
successoral planning in Quebec) are similar in al provinces;
however, there are some aspects in which both the method
of implementation and the terms used differ greatly.
Aspects of Quebec will planning are discussed later
in this piece.
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