Toronto Estate Trustee Counsel

Advising and Representing Estate Trustees in Ontario

Once a person acknowledges willingness to act as an estate trustee, he or she not only assumes onerous responsibilities but incurs statutory obligations.

In essence, an estate trustee legally holds the estate assets in trust for ultimate ownership by the beneficiaries. Among the general obligations of an estate trustee are the following:

To subordinate his or her own interests to his or her duties as trustee
To follow precisely the instructions of the will or wills
To treat all beneficiaries impartially
To exercise prudence and due diligence
To maintain accurate records and keep all source documents
To be prepared to demonstrate the correctness of all accounts to the Court

Failure to fulfil any of these obligations can render an estate trustee personally liable for breach of trust.

Guidance and Counsel for Estate Trustees

At Polten & Associates in Toronto, we offer knowledgeable and cost-effective counsel to estate trustees on executing their specific duties in compliance with the statutory requirements. Over decades our lawyers have acquired depth and breadth of experience in providing timely advice and solution-focused representation to numerous individuals and families from the Greater Toronto Area on matters pertaining to estate trusteeship.

We advise and assist estate trustees in such aspects of the estate administration process as the following:

Applying for a certificate of appointment as an estate trustee with or without a will
Advising on the specific duties of an estate trustee
Providing opinions on interpretation of the will or wills
Arranging for registration of assets in the estate trustee’s name
Assisting in the maintenance of proper estate accounts
Attending upon the “passing of accounts,” when estate accounts are required to be approved by the Court

German-Speaking Cross-Border Wills and Trusts Disputes Lawyers

Administering an estate encompassing interests in a German-speaking country can be a complex and daunting task. Our lawyers regularly assist Ontario estate trustees with matters involving German deceased persons and their heirs and property. We also regularly help clients who have received notice of the death of a relative in Germany, Austria or Switzerland protect their rights and interests in the foreign estate.

On matters having factual and/or legal connection to Germany, we work closely with our Europe-based network of legal professionals, built over a period of two decades and including more than 200 notaries, lawyers and judges, who occupy a range of responsible positions throughout Germany. Our lawyers are supported in this area of practice by our native German-speaking legal and administrative assistants, whose first language and language of higher education is German and who bring to their complementary roles within our firm more than 10 years of combined experience in working within the German legal system.