Estate planning is not just for wealthy families. It matters as soon as you have a spouse, a child, a house, or simply assets you took time to build. Yet many Quebeckers still confuse four tools that have nothing to do with each other: the will, the protection mandate, the power of attorney, and the testamentary trust.
The will determines what happens to your assets after your death. Three forms exist in Quebec: holograph (entirely in your own hand, no witness), before witnesses (signed before two adult witnesses), and notarized. Only the notarized will avoids court probate after death — saving heirs time, money and stress. Typical cost: $300 to $700 at a notary, sometimes $800 to $1,200 for a couple with more complex provisions. Probably the highest value-for-money purchase of your financial life.
The protection mandate (formerly mandate in case of incapacity) applies during your lifetime: it designates the person who will make decisions for you — health care, finances, property — if you become unable to. Without a homologated mandate, your family must petition the court to open a protective regime — long, costly, and possibly assigning someone you would not have chosen. Typical notary cost: $200 to $400, often bundled with the will.
The power of attorney targets specific transactions while you are fully capable. You can give it to a spouse, child or accountant to sign a car sale, manage a bank account during travel, or handle a real estate transaction in your absence. It loses all validity the moment you become incapable — which is why it never replaces the protection mandate. Cost: free if drafted yourself, $50 to $150 at a notary for a general notarized power.
The testamentary trust is more advanced. It is a structure that takes effect at your death, created within your will, in which assets are entrusted to a trustee for one or more beneficiaries. When to use it? Four classic situations: a minor child (assets protected and managed to age 25 or 30, not handed over at 18), a vulnerable adult child (health issues, addiction, ongoing divorce), a spouse who inherits but must eventually transmit to children from a previous union, and a large estate where income must be spread across several beneficiaries. Setup is through the will itself — no extra fees during your lifetime — but trust drafting requires a more specialized notary or lawyer: budget a notarized will at $1,500 to $3,000 rather than $500.
A common pitfall: since 2016, testamentary trusts no longer enjoy the progressive tax rate they once did — except for 36 months after death (graduated rate estate) or permanently for a qualified disability trust. The classic tax argument for testamentary trusts has largely eroded. We set them up today mostly for protection (minor, spouse, creditors, divorce) or control reasons, not for income splitting.
Our baseline recommendation for every De Longpre client, regardless of wealth: an up-to-date notarized will, a homologated protection mandate at the same notary appointment, and explicit beneficiary designations on RRSP, RRIF, TFSA and life insurance policies. This trio solves 80% of the estate issues we encounter, and rarely costs more than $1,000 for a couple. Beyond that, we evaluate with the notary whether a testamentary trust makes sense given family makeup and estate value.
One last point often overlooked: revisit your will after any major life change — marriage or civil union, birth, divorce, business purchase or sale, move out of Quebec. A will drafted fifteen years ago naming a deceased liquidator, a beneficiary you no longer see, or assets you no longer own, is often worth less than a recent clean home-drafted one.