At Tetrault Wealth, estate planning is far more than preparing a will. It’s about protecting what you’ve built, minimizing taxes, and ensuring your loved ones inherit both your wealth and your intentions.
Our team works with Canadians coast to coast. From retirees and business owners to families navigating complex estates, to build coordinated, tax-efficient plans that stand the test of time.
Estate planning is the process of organizing your financial affairs so your assets are managed and distributed according to your wishes after you pass away or if you become unable to make decisions.
For Canadians, this includes much more than drafting a will. It means creating a clear plan for:
Without a coordinated plan, CRA can take a significant portion of your estate through capital gains tax and income tax on registered accounts. A proper strategy turns that uncertainty into confidence for you and your family.
Many Canadians assume a will covers everything. In reality, it’s only one piece of a much larger puzzle.
Together, these ensure your estate plan works while you’re alive and after you’re gone.
Related: [Tax Planning in Canada]
Canada doesn’t have a traditional “estate tax,” but when you pass away, CRA treats most assets as if they were sold at fair market value. That “deemed disposition” can trigger significant taxes on investments, real estate, corporations, and registered accounts.
Assets left to your spouse or common-law partner can transfer tax-deferred, meaning no immediate capital gains tax. But if everything ultimately passes to your children, that tax hits later — planning when and how is crucial.
Registered accounts are typically fully taxable as income in your final return unless transferred to a spouse or dependent child. Without planning, these can create the largest tax bill in your estate.
An estate freeze allows business owners to “lock in” the current value of their company and pass future growth to the next generation, often through a family trust. It’s one of the most effective ways to control succession and reduce eventual capital gains.
Permanent life insurance, whether personally or corporately owned, can provide tax-free liquidity to pay estate taxes and preserve family assets. The goal: prevent your heirs from needing to sell investments or real estate just to pay CRA.
Donations made through your will can create large tax credits, helping offset final-year taxes while advancing causes you care about.
Probate is the legal process confirming the validity of your will. While necessary in many provinces, it can create both delay and cost. Probate fees vary by province, but typically range between 0.5% and 1.5% of your estate’s value.
Adding adult children as joint owners can expose your assets to their creditors or divorces. The right balance between control, tax efficiency, and protection is key.
Estate planning also protects you if you become unable to make decisions due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline.
Appoints someone you trust to handle your financial affairs if you can’t.
Specifies your wishes for medical care and end-of-life decisions.
A properly structured plan ensures bills, investments, and business operations continue smoothly even if you’re not able to manage them personally.
If you own a company, real estate portfolio, or professional corporation, your estate plan must go beyond personal assets.
Lock in your company’s value today and transfer future growth to your heirs.
Protect minors, manage distributions over time, and maintain control across generations.
Ensure the business can continue if an owner dies, often funded by life insurance.
Align your HoldCo and OpCo structures for tax-efficient succession, capital dividend account use, and eventual sale.
Proper planning helps keep your business in the family, and out of probate court.
Money can bring out the best or worst in families. The most successful estates balance technical planning with emotional preparation.
An executor’s job can take hundreds of hours: filing taxes, handling CRA, managing property, and distributing assets. Some families prefer appointing a professional or co-executor to relieve that burden.
Explaining your choices ahead of time can prevent confusion and resentment later. Many clients include a “Letter of Wishes” to share guidance and family values.
Review your estate plan after major life events – marriage, divorce, sale of business, new grandchild, or major tax changes.
Estate planning is a team sport. At Tetrault Wealth, we coordinate your:
Working closely with your accountants and estate lawyers, we ensure everything fits together in a seamless, tax-efficient plan.
We start by:
You’ve worked hard to build your estate. Let’s make sure it ends up in the right hands, at the right time, with minimal tax and conflict.
Tetrault Wealth is a portfolio management team working for CG Wealth Management. We are fully covered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) and are held to the regulatory standards set forth by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). In addition to satisfying regulatory requirements, working with CG Wealth Management allows Tétrault Wealth the benefit access to an extensive amount of financial market research to supplement the independent research done within the group.
