Estate Planning for Newcomers to Canada

Estate planning is rarely on the first-year checklist for a newcomer to Canada — there are visas, jobs, schools, and housing to sort first. But arriving in Canada is itself an estate-planning event, both for tax (your cost base resets) and for the simple fact that your old will, written under another country's law, may not do what you need here. Many newcomers have either a will from their home country or no will at all, and both leave their growing Canadian life exposed to a default they never chose.

This guide covers what newcomers should put in place, from the Canadian side. It is general information, not advice; for assets and wills in your former country, get advice there too.

The cost-base step-up on arrival #

The tax news is friendly. When you become a Canadian tax resident, you are generally deemed to acquire most of your property at its fair market value on the day you arrive.^[1] That sets your Canadian cost base, so a future Canadian capital gain is measured from your arrival value rather than what you originally paid. Growth that happened before you became a resident is generally outside the Canadian net — a genuine advantage for assets that appreciated in your home country before the move.

Make a Canadian will #

The most important step is a Canadian will for your Canadian assets. A foreign will may be valid in Canada if it was validly made under its own law, but relying on it here is risky: it can complicate Canadian probate, may not fit Canadian assets, and may conflict with local rules. A Canadian will is cleaner, and if you keep a foreign will for foreign assets, the two must be coordinated so neither revokes the other.

What happens if you don't #

If a newcomer dies in Canada without a Canadian will, provincial intestacy rules decide their Canadian estate.^[2] Those rules distribute to a surviving spouse and children in fixed statutory shares, treat common-law partners differently across provinces, and follow none of your home country's customs or your personal wishes. It is the same blunt default that applies to anyone without a will — and for newcomers with family in more than one country, the mismatch can be especially harsh.

Foreign assets and powers of attorney #

Two more pieces complete the plan:

• Foreign assets. Anything you kept in your former country is generally governed by that country's succession law and may need a local will and local administration. As a Canadian resident you may also have foreign-property reporting obligations above the reporting threshold.
• Powers of attorney. Make Canadian powers of attorney for property and personal care; a document from your home country may not be effective here.^[3]

Add beneficiary designations on any new Canadian registered accounts (RRSP, TFSA), and you have covered the essentials.

What we focus on at It's Simple Will #

The Will Creator makes it straightforward for a newcomer to put a valid Canadian will in place early, in plain language, covering Canadian assets and naming an executor and guardians. The foreign-will and cross-border tax pieces belong with specialists; our role is to make the Canadian foundation easy. For the fundamentals, see how to write a will in Canada.

Related guides #

• How to write a will in Canada
• Dying without a will in Canada
• Foreign inheritance for Canadians
• Returning to Canada — updating your estate plan
• Expatriate Canadian estate planning