Weaver Simmons LLP is a Sudbury partnership founded in 1931, with over 30 full-time lawyers and roughly 60 personnel including law clerks, law students and computer systems staff. The firm practises in civil litigation, corporate, taxation, commercial, real estate, Aboriginal law, criminal, family, and labour and employment law, and provides services in both English and French. Its library and legal reference collection is among the most complete private law libraries in Northern Ontario.
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From the Firm
Multiple Wills: Why Some Ontario Estates Use More Than One
Ontario charges estate administration tax on the value of assets passing through probate. Using more than one will can keep certain assets out of that calculation entirely.
What the second will is actually for
Ontario levies estate administration tax on the value of the estate probated. Some assets — notably
private company shares, and personal property whose transfer does not require a third party to see a
probated will — can often be transferred without probate at all. A multiple wills structure separates
those assets into their own will, so their value never enters the probate calculation.
How the two wills divide the estate
The primary will covers assets that will need probate: real estate held in the deceased's name alone,
bank and investment accounts, and anything where an institution will insist on seeing a court-authenticated
document before releasing it. The secondary will covers the assets that do not need it, most commonly shares
in a private corporation, shareholder loans, and personal effects.
Where it goes wrong
Multiple wills have to be drafted as a deliberate pair. A later will containing a general revocation
clause can accidentally revoke the earlier one, and the two documents need to appoint their estates trustees
and allocate assets in a way that does not leave gaps or overlaps. Estates litigation in this area usually
traces back to drafting that treated the second will as an afterthought.
Who this is worth considering for
The structure is most useful where there is a private corporation in the picture, which is why it comes up
so often for business owners and incorporated professionals. For an estate made up mostly of a house and
bank accounts, there may be nothing meaningful to keep out of probate.
This article is general information about Ontario estate planning, not legal
advice, and it is not a summary of the firm's own writing. Estate administration tax rules and the treatment
of particular assets change — speak to a lawyer about your own situation.
General guidance for this kind of matter, not advice about your situation and not specific to this firm.
Questions worth asking
Have you handled this exact program recently, and what is the current processing reality?
What is the total cost including government fees?
What happens if the application is refused, is a re-application included?
Are you a lawyer or a licensed consultant?
How this work is usually billed
Usually a flat fee per application, quoted separately from government processing fees. Confirm whether responding to a request for more documents is included.
What to have ready
Passports for everyone applying, education and work records, any prior application or refusal letters, and your current status documents.
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