Offices in Ottawa and Perth
(613) 722-1500

CONTACT US (613) 722-1500

Wills, Trusts and Estates

Trusts

Our firm prepares inter vivos trusts, including family trusts, when they are appropriate tools to meet our clients’ estate planning needs.  We also prepare the following trusts, as required:

Henson Trust 

A Henson trust is a lifetime trust most often created for the benefit of a person with a disability. This type of trust gives trustees unfettered discretion to distribute funds to the beneficiary bearing in mind the legislative restrictions. One purpose of a Henson trust is to ensure that a beneficiary’s receipt of ODSP benefits is not negatively impacted by the inheritance.

Alter Ego Trust 

An alter ego trust is a trust created by an individual (referred to as the ‘settlor’) who is 65 years or older at the time of creation. An alter ego trust permits the settlor to act both as beneficiary and trustee – hence the name, ‘alter ego.’ With an alter ego trust, the settlor must be the only beneficiary of the trust and the trust may only operate so long as the settlor remains living.  Any assets remaining in the trust on death of settlor will be distributed in accordance with the terms of the trust.

Joint Partner Trust 

This type of trust possesses many of the same characteristics as an alter ego trust; however, using a joint partner as opposed to an alter ego trust permits the settlor to include their married spouse or common law partner as a beneficiary. An important term of the joint partner trust is that all income from the trust must be received in some combination by the settlor and their spouse before the last living spouse passes away.

Inter Vivos Trust and Testamentary Trust 

An inter vivos trust is settled by a settlor under a trust document while the settlor, trustee(s) and beneficiaries are alive or contemplated.  In contrast with an inter vivos trust, which is created during the trustor’s lifetime, a testamentary trust is created as a result of the testator’s death. The terms of a testamentary trust are typically determined by the testator’s will, or by a court order regarding the deceased person’s estate.

Insurance Trust 

An insurance trust is a type of testamentary trust whereby the proceeds of a deceased person’s life insurance policy can be transferred to a trustee to be managed for a beneficiary ‘outside of the estate’. In this sense, a testamentary insurance trust is not subject to probate fees or estate administration taxes, which makes it a useful estate planning tool in many circumstances.

Connect with our Team

Offices in Ottawa and Perth     (613) 722-1500

Related Service Areas

Estate Administration And Planning
Estate Litigation
Guardianship Applications
Living Wills
Powers Of Attorney
Preparing Wills And Estate Planning
Probate Applications

More Resources

Blog |
Business Law
By: 

Posted March 13, 2024

A not-for-profit corporation incorporated pursuant to the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (Ontario) (”ONCA”) is required to maintain certain records regarding the corporation, its members, directors and[...]
Blog |
Business Law
By: 

Posted March 5, 2024

With India having touched down on the surface of the moon last year, an impressive achievement by all accounts, we are reminded of the dozens[...]
Blog |
Family Law
By: 
Co-parenting with your ex-partner can be challenging. It involves constant coordination and communication about various aspects of your children’s lives. Whether it is about schedules,[...]
Blog |
Wills, Trusts and Estates
By: 
Over time, individuals could acquire assets in different jurisdictions that are governed by different legal systems. Similar to the consideration of double wills in distinguishing[...]
Blog |
Family Law
By: 

Posted January 31, 2024

In the first part of this series, we reviewed the background, trial, and appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Anderson v Anderson. This[...]
Blog |
Practice Management
By: 

Posted January 26, 2024

On July 17, 1797, ten lawyers were present at the Wilson’s Hotel in Newark, Upper Canada, to read “An Act for the better regulating the[...]

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Consent*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.