There are numerous estimates predicting that within the next 10-20 years, the transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to the next generation – mainly to Millennials or Generation X – will be in the range of $1 -$2 trillion in Canada.  The taxman is poised to take a significant bite of that wealth.

Given this looming transfer, the estate planning business has been thriving for quite some time.  Estate planning involves the planned transfer of wealth in an orderly fashion.  It involves a multitude of disciplines including tax, legal, accounting, investment planning, insurance, trust administration and philanthropy to name the obvious.

While many of the professions offer courses on estate planning, there are few organizations that encompass the multitude of disciplines that are required to plan and implement a good estate plan.  The designation granting Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) is one of them.  It offers numerous courses, conferences, articles and other expertise to help practitioners plan their clients’ affairs with the multi-disciplinary approach that is a must. STEP’s rigorous training equips practitioners with great tools.

There are no cookie-cutter approaches to estate planning.  You might expect that your local accountant, insurance / investment advisor or lawyer will have all the answers.  The short rebuttal to that is they don’t.

I recall more than 25 years ago, while on vacation in Saskatchewan, reading a full-page newspaper article on the beach.  It was written by a local insurance advisor who espoused a method of estate planning that worked for him.  He advocated having “Mom and Dad” sit all of the ultimate beneficiaries down around the “kitchen table” – usually the children – in a planned meeting facilitated by him where the ultimate estate plan would be laid out.  If there were any problems or issues, they would be dealt with right then and there.

I reflected on that approach and was happy it worked for him.  But I knew that kind of approach with most of my clients would be a disaster.  For Seinfeld fans, it reminded me of the celebration of Festivus where everyone would gather around the Festivus pole at dinner for an “airing of the grievances”.

Estate planning can involve highly charged emotions that are not usually resolved by simply sitting around a table and “having it out” or airing one’s grievances.  It involves careful coordinated planning with the various disciplines and an appreciation of the complex emotions and psychology that is often at play.

It also involves aggressively keeping up to date since laws and government administrative procedures can change quickly thus materially affecting an estate plan.  For example, in developing an estate plan, one has to consider if another country has jurisdiction over some of your assets that you wish to pass along.  Many countries will charge tax – in some form or fashion – for the transfer of those countries’ assets – like real estate – either during lifetime or on death.

The most obvious example is the U.S. that has an estate tax that applies to its citizens and U.S. domiciliaries.  While U.S. persons can avail themselves of an exemption, the amount of such exemption has been a political football over the years.  For 2025, the amount is US$13.99 million but was scheduled to decline to approximately US$7 million at the end of this year. However, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill has erased that possibility by making the exemption amount US$15 million for 2026 and indexed to inflation for every year after.  U.S estate tax rates are progressive with 40% being the top rate.  Any assets in excess of the exemption amount in the year of death, will be subject to the 40% top rate on worldwide assets for U.S. citizens, regardless of where their wealth is held.

The U.S. estate tax also applies to non-U.S. persons, like many Canadians, if they hold U.S. situs assets on death. Typical assets would be personally held U.S. stocks and U.S. real estate.  Can affected Canadians avail themselves of the full exemption amount?  No.  However, Canada is one of a handful of countries that the U.S. has entered into agreements with that enable affected persons to use a portion of the exemption amount (with such portion being the ratio of the fair market value of U.S. situs assets on death compared to the deceased’s fair market value of worldwide assets multiplied by the current year’s exemption amount).

For example, let’s say Mr. Jones, a Canadian who is not a U.S. person, owns $1 million of Apple stock (a U.S. publicly traded stock) on death.  He also owns a home in Florida that is worth $2 million.  His worldwide estate is worth $20 million when he dies on February 1, 2026.  Mr. Jones’ U.S. situs assets is $3 million or 15% of his estate.  Accordingly, Mr. Jones would be entitled to 15% of the 2026 exemption amount of $15 million, $2,250,000.  Overly simplified and ignoring any currency implications, Mr. Jones’ U.S. estate tax liability would thus be ($3 million – $2,250,000) x 40% = $300,000.

The above would be separate and apart from his Canadian tax liabilities arising from deemed dispositions on death.  Would his estate be able to use the U.S. estate tax liability to offset any Canadian tax?  Perhaps. But such relief is very limited given the restrictions in the Canada-U.S. taxation treaty.

So, what does all of this mean? In short, the $1–$2 trillion wealth transfer is well underway.  Developing an effective estate plan requires more than a will from twenty years ago, a few beneficiary designations or the advice of a single professional who claims to “do” estate planning. It demands a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach – tax, legal, accounting, investment, insurance, trust and philanthropic expertise – working in concert. It demands constant vigilance to keep pace with shifting laws, cross-border complexities, and changing family realities.

Estate planning is an ongoing act of stewardship. Done poorly, it’s an expensive gift to the government –  to help fund their latest spending spree – and a recipe for family strife.