Our approach · 07 / 08
Wills, powers of attorney, executor design, and beneficiary structures are the documents that translate intention into outcome. We coordinate them with the wider wealth plan so that what is written and what is held tell the same story.
The mandate
A will is a precise document. The corporate structure, the trust, the insurance, the beneficiary designations on registered accounts — all of these are precise too. When they disagree, the disagreement is discovered at the worst possible moment.
We do not draft wills. We work with the family’s estate counsel to ensure every part of the plan — legal, structural, financial — describes the same intention. Where there is a gap, we surface it. Where there is a conflict, we help resolve it before it becomes consequential.
Coordination is not glamorous. It is, in our experience, what most distinguishes estates that settle smoothly from those that do not.
Registered accounts, insurance policies, and certain corporate arrangements pass outside the will, on the basis of beneficiary designations. We review every designation alongside the will itself to ensure they tell a consistent story.
Who is named matters. The choice of executor and trustee — their capacity, their relationships, their availability — shapes how smoothly the estate is administered. We help families think this through alongside counsel.
Property in another province or another country, beneficiaries who reside outside Canada, dual-citizen family members — each introduces complexity that the will alone may not address. We help identify the questions before they become problems.
What’s distinctive
Most families experience estate planning as parallel conversations — one with the lawyer, one with the advisor, occasionally one with the accountant. We hold the conversation in one room.
Wills, powers of attorney, and trust deeds are drafted by counsel. We participate in the discussion that informs them — sharing what the financial structure looks like, what the corporate plan intends, and where the documents may need to flex.
Documents drafted five years ago may no longer reflect the family’s current intention. We review the document set alongside the wider plan as part of our ongoing mandate, not as a once-completed task.
What the will says is one question. What the estate can actually do, in the months after death, is another. We coordinate the document with the liquidity plan so that the executor is not solving for cash flow in the worst week.
No. Wills, powers of attorney, and trust deeds are drafted by qualified estate counsel. Enclave’s role is to ensure those documents align with the financial structure, beneficiary designations, and family intent — and to coordinate with counsel throughout.
For most registered accounts and insurance policies, yes. A beneficiary designation made on the account itself typically governs that asset directly, regardless of what the will says. This is one of the most common sources of estate conflict, and one of the easiest to coordinate.
It is a question with no universal answer. The executor needs capacity, availability, and an appropriate relationship to the family. For substantial estates, a professional executor or co-executor arrangement is often appropriate. We help families think this through alongside counsel.
A power of attorney designates someone to act on your behalf if you are unable to. There are typically two — one for property and one for personal care — and the choice of attorney is consequential. Without one in place, the family must seek court authority to act, which is slower and more public than most families would choose.
Yes. Major life events — marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, business sales, changes in residence — warrant a review. Even absent specific events, periodic review ensures the document continues to reflect current intention and current law.