Who is a Beneficiary
Neufeld Legal P.C. can be reached by telephone at 403-400-4092 or email Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
Beneficiaries have a prominent role in estate planning, given that a beneficiary is a person who receives or is entitled to receive a beneficial disposition of property under a will, another legal instrument or on an intestacy.
Thus, upon the death of a person (the decedent), the person charged with administering the decedent’s estate, known as the executor or personal representative, needs to ascertain who are the beneficiaries of the decedent’s estate. As such it is important to look at the applicable laws and statutes, whether that is done in conjunction with a valid last will & testament, and other legal instruments, or in the absence of such legal documentation, or where the documentation does not effectuate a full disposition of property, such that the decedent is intestate, than the applicable law and statute determines the beneficiaries and their entitlements.
How the distribution is undertaken as between beneficiaries of the decedent’s estate is either set out in the will, and other legal instruments, or in the absence of a valid will, or an incomplete distribution from the executed legal instruments, as prescribed by the applicable law and statute, such as the Alberta Wills and Succession Act. This requires the executor to collect all the legal documentation pertaining to the decedent’s estate, which includes their last will & testament, as well as other legal instruments attendant with other property, such as life insurance and RRSP documentation, as well as joint tenancy arrangements, as is oftentimes seen with real property. It is important to recognize that certain property, such as proceeds from an insurance policy or RRSP might have its own beneficiary designations, which can dictate that property’s distribution as opposed to the decedent’s will or the laws of intestacy, such that it will have its own specific beneficiary designations for that property.
Thereafter, beneficiaries are determined pursuant to the specifics of the last will & testament, and either in its absence, or where the legal documentation does not dispense with all of the decedent’s property, than the laws of intestacy of the governing jurisdiction. As such, in each province and in foreign jurisdictions, it is important to review the current legislation for that particular jurisdiction and consult with legal counsel admitted to practice in the jurisdiction and made aware of the pertinent facts and circumstances, to determine the beneficiaries and distributions for a decedent’s estate.
For legal services pertaining to wills and estates, from the drafting of legal documents to administering a decedent’s estate in the province of Alberta, contact our law firm today at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
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