Separate Corporate Properties Wills

If you own shares in a small business corporation, you may wish to consider the merits of a separate Will to deal with those shares apart from your other assets. Rarely do private corporations require a "probated Will" when a shareholder dies because the other shareholders and directors are usually family members or close colleagues who are well aware of the parties involved. This is different from institutions like banks that have very rigid policies around releasing money and other assets of a deceased individual. They require a "probated Will" or, in Ontario, a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will. When a Will is submitted for probate, there is a court fee or probate fee which applies. The fee is calculated based upon the value of all of the assets that flow through the Will. So if your privately held corporation has value, that value could flow though a separate Will and would not be subject to the probate fees, saving your Estate money. Certainly something to consider and canvass with your lawyer.

Corporate Property Wills = Good Business

First of all, do you have a Will? If not, you should! But if you own a private corporation, you should consider having two. In Ontario, you are allowed to have a separate corporate properties Will, which deals exclusively with the shares you own in your company and/or loans owing from your company to you. This can result in a substantial savings on death. Your regular Will is probably going to have to be submitted for probate (which means the government values your property and charges you $15.00 for every $1,000 of assets which flow through that Will). You don't usually need probate to deal with private company shares, so 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. The saving is 1.5% of the value in the corporation at the time of death. For those of you who have accumulated value in your companies, this is an excellent and fairly 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.