First of all, do you have a Will? If not, you should!

But if you own a private corporation, you should consider having not one, but two Wills.

In Ontario, you’re allowed to have a separate corporate properties Will, which deals exclusively with the shares you own in your company. This can result in substantial savings on death!

Your regular Will is probably going to have to be submitted for a Certificate of Appointment (more commonly referred to as probate) – this is when the Court reviews your Will to ensure that it is your last Will and the person you name as Executor has the proper authority and charges you $15.00 for every $1,000 of assets which form part of your Estate.

For a Will that deals with your corporate properties, you don’t usually need to probate when dealing with private company shares. The idea is to have a separate corporate Will  so that the value of your company-related assets do not get factored into the calculation of your total assets during the probate process.

For those of you have accumulated value in your companies, this is an excellent and straight-forward strategy to keep more of your hard-earned money in the hands of your beneficiaries. Planning ahead, even for death, makes good business sense!

The dedicated estate and corporate lawyers at Barriston Law are happy to assist you in drafting your corporate property will. Contact us today to embark on the path to exemplary business practices!

Written by Heather Dixon and Nahal Golmohammadi