With more than three decades of tax planning-related experience, Toronto, Ontario, CA-based lawyer Stuart Bollefer serves as a senior tax partner at Aird & Berlis LLP, which he joined in 2000. Stuart Bollefer’s work includes tax planned wills, with an emphasis on wills that do not include assets that must go through probate.

After a Canadian citizen passes away, legal processes begin as court officials review the individual’s will and estate plan. In many cases, assets described in a person’s will are required to go through probate. Probate processes in Canada essentially function as an approval process, through which the court evaluates the legality and legitimacy of the will and its contents. Furthermore, probate proceedings conclude with the court appointing an executor, whose task is to execute the will’s directives.

While generally straightforward, the probate process can be lengthy and confusing at times. Fortunately, certain assets are not subject to probate; although bank accounts and most real estate are subject to probate, artwork, debt owed to a client, private partnership interests, and shares in private corporations, for example, are typically exempt from the process.

Any Canadian concerned about the validity of their will or aspects of probate should discuss matters with a knowledgeable attorney.