Updated: April 2025  |  bremo.io financial guides

Complete Estate Planning Checklist for Canadians

Estate planning is not a single task — it is a collection of documents, decisions, and conversations that work together to protect you and your family. This checklist covers the essential elements every Canadian should address, from the most basic documents to the more complex strategies for those with significant assets.

Section 1 — Core Legal Documents

Will

• ☐ Create or update your will
• ☐ Name a primary executor and an alternate executor
• ☐ Name a guardian for any minor children
• ☐ Specify how your residue (remaining estate) is distributed
• ☐ Include specific bequests if desired (jewellery, heirlooms, charitable gifts)
• ☐ Include a survivorship clause (requiring beneficiary to survive you by 30 days, for example)
• ☐ Sign with two adult witnesses who are not beneficiaries
• ☐ Store the original in a known, accessible location
• ☐ Tell your executor where the will is located

Power of Attorney for Property

• ☐ Create a continuing (enduring) power of attorney for property
• ☐ Name a primary attorney and an alternate
• ☐ Decide when it takes effect (immediately or on incapacity)
• ☐ Include specific powers or restrictions if needed
• ☐ Sign with required witnesses (varies by province)
• ☐ Provide a copy to your attorney and your financial institutions

Power of Attorney for Personal Care / Advance Directive

• ☐ Create a POA for personal care (healthcare proxy)
• ☐ Name someone who understands your values and wishes
• ☐ Document your wishes about specific medical treatments
• ☐ Address CPR, mechanical ventilation, and artificial feeding preferences
• ☐ Note your preferences about dying at home vs. hospital
• ☐ Provide copies to your attorney, family doctor, and healthcare providers

Section 2 — Beneficiary Designations

• ☐ Review RRSP beneficiary designation — name spouse for rollover or qualified beneficiary
• ☐ Review RRIF beneficiary designation
• ☐ Name spouse as TFSA successor holder (not just beneficiary)
• ☐ Review all life insurance beneficiary designations
• ☐ Review pension plan beneficiary / survivor benefit designations
• ☐ Name contingent (backup) beneficiaries for all accounts
• ☐ Ensure designations align with your overall estate plan and will
• ☐ Update any outdated designations (ex-spouses, deceased individuals)

Section 3 — Asset Inventory and Organization

• ☐ Create a complete inventory of all assets (real estate, bank accounts, investments, RRSP/TFSA, pensions, vehicles, personal property, business interests)
• ☐ List all debts (mortgage, loans, credit cards, lines of credit)
• ☐ Document the location of all important documents (deeds, insurance policies, investment statements)
• ☐ Record the names and contact information of all financial institutions
• ☐ Note the location of important physical items (safety deposit box, home safe)
• ☐ Create a document your executor can use to locate all assets quickly

Section 4 — Tax Planning

• ☐ Understand the deemed disposition rules and your potential capital gains exposure at death
• ☐ Confirm your principal residence designation history
• ☐ Keep records of adjusted cost base for all capital property
• ☐ Assess RRSP/RRIF tax exposure and consider whether the spousal rollover covers your situation
• ☐ Consider life insurance to fund anticipated capital gains tax or RRSP collapse
• ☐ Review whether probate fee minimization strategies make sense for your province and estate size

Section 5 — Digital Estate Planning

• ☐ Create a list of online accounts (email, social media, banking, cloud storage)
• ☐ Record passwords or set up a password manager with master access for your executor
• ☐ Note the location and access method for cryptocurrency wallets (seed phrases)
• ☐ Specify what should happen to social media accounts (memorialize or delete)
• ☐ Document subscription services that should be cancelled
• ☐ Store digital asset information securely (not in the will itself, which becomes public record)

Section 6 — Communication and Review

• ☐ Tell your executor where your will and POAs are stored
• ☐ Discuss your wishes with your healthcare proxy and ensure they understand your values
• ☐ Inform close family members of your general estate intentions to minimize post-death conflict
• ☐ Review and update your estate plan after: marriage, divorce, birth of a child, major asset change, moving to a new province, death of a named executor or beneficiary
• ☐ Schedule a general review every three to five years

Section 7 — Life Insurance

• ☐ Ensure adequate coverage for income replacement (while dependants rely on your income)
• ☐ Consider insurance to fund capital gains tax or RRSP collapse at second death
• ☐ Consider estate equalization needs (e.g., one child inherits business)
• ☐ Review coverage annually or after major life events