If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s that things can change in an instant. Many Canadians have thought about their health more than ever before. It’s also been a time of reflection on how to plan for the future, leading to everything from career changes and new real estate goals to unexpected retirement plans.
With so many changes to think about, it might be easy to forget to factor in how these events may impact one’s estate plan. “It’s critically important that everyone’s going back and taking another look at those plans on a regular basis” and after major life events as well, says Leanne D. Kaufman, president and CEO of RBC Royal Trust.
These could be events such as a marriage, a child or grandchild being born, or a death in the family. But other life changes could also prompt estate plan revisions — for example, when a young adult comes of age.
Canadians don’t always recognize that personal assets are constantly being accumulated, and so keeping an estate plan as current as possible is important in helping prevent disputes between loved ones in the future. Two areas, in particular, are often overlooked in estate plans: assets with sentimental value and digital assets, according to Tracey Woo, vice-president of professional practice and tax at RBC Royal Trust.
“The second item that is becoming an increasingly larger issue today is digital assets,” Woo says. Some examples of digital assets include email accounts, social media accounts, online financial and medical records, photos stored on a cloud, and cryptocurrency. Essentially, digital assets are anything that requires a username and a password for access.
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Without a plan for what happens to an individual’s digital assets, it can be very difficult for an executor and beneficiaries to gain access, since common digital service providers like Google and Apple have very specific terms of service. Most of these platforms are not Canadian, so the laws applicable to what happens upon the death of a user are often from some other jurisdiction, which can make navigating them a bit tricky, Kaufman says.
READ MORE: What being an executor means — and what to do if you’re named as one
Assets aside, it’s worth revisiting your final wishes. If an estate plan was made many years ago, a person’s wishes on how they want to be treated and cared for at the end of life may have drastically changed. That’s why Kaufman recommends looking at the whole estate plan once more. “So, reviewing what’s been legally set out in those documents — just making sure that it still fits with the way you want it as if you were writing it fresh today,” she says.
It’s also important to have conversations about final wishes with loved ones, as they may be the ones making the decisions when you’re not able to speak for yourself.
READ MORE: How to talk to your family about your final wishes
In the event that there aren’t any suitable family members or friends to step into the executor role, or if they don’t wish to be burdened with the responsibility, professional help is available. Trust companies like RBC Royal Trust can be named as executor, trustee or power of attorney to ensure that a person’s end-of-life wishes are fulfilled.
While change is inevitable, Kaufman and Woo emphasize that having a solid plan in place can provide peace of mind and be easier on loved ones through an emotionally challenging time.
Want to talk to a professional about choosing an executor as part of your estate plan? Turn to RBC Royal Trust for help.
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