ADVISOR.CA, James Dolan
Cynthia Kett, principal at Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors in Toronto, says many of the estates she deals with don’t use a professional executor. “If there are a lot of assets in joint name, and everything is rolling over to a surviving spouse outright, that kind of estate would not need a professional executor,” she says.
What kind of estate does?
Kett says it depends on estate complexity, not size. “A house worth $2 million and a bank account—that might not be a complex estate in Toronto,” Kett points out. “But in Kamloops [B.C.] or somewhere a house is worth a lot less, there might be a private corporation or shares in a local business. That becomes complex even though it’s not worth as much.”