A free, guided review that helps Canadians figure out where to start — and what actually needs attention — whether you have done some planning or none at all.
What makes this different: most people haven’t done much estate planning — and that’s completely normal. This isn’t a legal manual or a generic checklist. It’s a practical, guided review designed to help you see what actually needs attention, whether you’re starting from scratch or haven’t revisited things in years.
Choose the option that feels closest to your situation right now. It will help frame the rest of the review.
This question helps surface urgency, motivation, and the kind of support that may actually be needed.
People often say they’ve been meaning to get to this for years. A recent event is usually what finally brings it into focus.
Illness, retirement, remarriage, a death in the family, a move, a business sale, or worry about burdening children.
Planning gets delayed because people think they need to solve everything before they begin.
What changed? What feels unfinished? What would worry me most if something happened tomorrow?
Not every estate plan is straightforward. Complexity often comes from people, relationships, and real-world circumstances, not just money.
Your priorities shape the planning. Some people are focused on taxes. Others are focused on family burden, incapacity, fairness, or simply getting organized.
A will still matters. But it is only one part of the plan. The question is whether it still reflects your life now.
It identifies who should handle your estate and who should inherit. It can also deal with guardianship and trust issues where relevant.
Has your family changed? Have assets changed? Is the named executor still the right person?
The document exists, but it no longer matches reality. Or no one knows where the original is.
Blended families, unequal gifts, business interests, vulnerable beneficiaries, or more than one jurisdiction.
This document deals with financial and legal decision-making during incapacity. It deserves more attention than many people give it.
Incapacity can happen long before death. The person named may need to handle banking, bills, property, and paperwork during a stressful period.
Is the right person named? Would they actually be able to act? Have they been told? Would they know where anything is?
The person named is trustworthy, but unavailable, disorganized, uncomfortable with money, or dealing with their own limitations.
If I became incapable tomorrow, could this person step in quickly and confidently?
Healthcare documents aren’t just about forms. They’re about whether the right person could speak for you and whether your wishes would be understood.
Not everything belongs in a formal legal document. Practical instructions can still be very helpful when someone is trying to step in.
Naming someone is not the same as preparing them. The person may be trustworthy, but still not be the best fit for the role.
Your executor may eventually deal with paperwork, tax filings, beneficiaries, timing issues, and conflict.
Capacity, organization, geography, age, health, family dynamics, and whether they’re willing.
The “obvious” choice is made by habit, not by fit.
Have I spoken to them? Do they know what this could involve? Would they be the right person in real life?
The person named for incapacity planning may need to act long before anyone expects it.
If minors or vulnerable beneficiaries are involved, the decision about who manages money and care deserves special attention.
A role can come as a shock if it’s discovered only when there is already a crisis or a death.
The plan is only as good as the information behind it. If no one knows what exists, things get missed.
Bank accounts, investments, registered plans, insurance, pensions, real estate, vehicles, corporations, debts, and significant personal property.
Even a good legal plan becomes harder to administer when the estate picture has to be reconstructed from scratch.
Paperless accounts, outdated lists, and forgotten assets create delay and frustration later.
Could someone identify what I own and what I owe without guessing?
RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, insurance, pensions, and similar assets may pass outside the estate. That can create surprises if the designations are not coordinated with the rest of the plan.
Joint ownership can simplify some transfers, but it can also create confusion, tax issues, or unintended consequences.
Private corporations, shareholder agreements, holding companies, partnerships, and cross-border assets often need more than standard planning.
Subscriptions, online banking, cloud storage, loyalty points, social accounts, and passwords are often overlooked until someone urgently needs them.
Documents may exist, but they’re scattered across drawers, boxes, email accounts, and memory.
After a crisis or death, even simple estates become harder when the important information is hard to locate.
Document locations, contact details, account lists, insurance information, passwords, and practical notes.
Family members assume someone else knows where everything is.
If I were unavailable tomorrow, where would someone begin?
People often assume their choices will make sense later, even though no one involved understands why those decisions were made.
Funeral preferences, household logistics, pet care, digital access, and key contacts can matter immediately, even if they never appear in a formal legal document.
Life changes, but many plans don’t. That’s often where the trouble begins.
When important instructions, explanations, and practical details are never written down, the plan depends too heavily on memory.
Collect your current documents, account lists, beneficiary information, contact details, insurance information, and the location of originals.
Look for anything that appears outdated, inconsistent, missing, or unclear. Pay special attention to names, designations, and role choices.
Consider whether the people you’ve named should be spoken to now, rather than discovering your choices later under pressure.
Complex family situations, tax issues, trusts, vulnerable beneficiaries, business interests, and inter-jurisdictional matters usually deserve more than a self-guided review.
Use this review to create a more informed to-do list. The goal isn’t perfection in one sitting. The goal is clarity, direction, and better next steps.
See what may be missing, outdated, unclear, or still relying too heavily on memory or assumption.
Bring together the documents, decisions, people, and practical details that often matter most later.
Leave with a better sense of what to review, what to update, and where more support may be helpful.
As you work through the tool, this section builds a simple summary of the areas you’ve reviewed. You can save it as a Word document or use the PDF option to print or save it as a PDF.