Know
The Risks

In reality, lawsuits can originate from any number of sources, such as excluded heirs, creditors and other injured third parties, not to mention the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in some cases. If they’re not named in the will, an exclusion clause is meaningless.

The world has changed vastly in recent years and the impact on the risk facing executors has changed along with it. The children of modern extended familes lack the compatibility of those who shared lives under the same roof. Instant access to information and multiple means of communication have altered expectations for timely feedback.

Estate adminstration has become more burdensome, assets of every kind have become far more complicated and taxation of estates has become more multi-faceted, convoluted and an increasing source of risk. The executor’s world has changed.

On top of everything else, the legislative landscape has shifted, with jurisdictions representing 67% of all Canadians having changed their estates legislation in just the last few years, plus the federal government overhauling the taxation of estates, affecting all Canadians and creating a potential hotbed for litigation.

These are not small changes. In some cases, they have actually made it easier for disgrunted heirs to challenge the will. In others, audit authority was implemented to hold executors personally accountable for errors with serious consequences including massive fines. Executors who misfile a form can now face lengthy prison sentences.