Lethbridge Estate Accounting Services

From trusts to executors, we help you plan and manage all aspects of estates. Taking over someone else’s affairs after they’ve passed requires understanding, careful planning and a lot of patience. This responsibility is heavy to shoulder on your own. You need an accountant you can trust – a specialist who can help you navigate the financial side of this very difficult time.

We are also certified providers of QuickEstate software. Contact us today to explore this convenient option to make managing an estate easier and less stressful.

Estate Accounting Services

Estate tax returns for deceased individuals

As difficult as it is to accept, personal taxes don’t just disappear when someone passes on. They become a part of the executor’s responsibility, and without professional help, the executor can end up in debt from the deceased’s taxes. With empathy and understanding, we can walk you through this process so you can avoid tax debt and family troubles during this difficult time.

Planning your estate

Creating a plan for passing on your estate is never easy. We can help you avoid unnecessary taxes and ease the burden on your survivors while creating an efficient plan to transfer your wealth to the next generation.

Planning includes:

• Will review
• Estate review
• Tax minimization assistance

Additionally, we can help make this even easier for you through our partnership with QuickEstate, a program designed to help plan ahead so that wills, taxes, and inheritance are easier to deal with. It's a great way to preemptively reduce stress from a difficult time.

Managing an estate

When someone close to you passes on, the last thing you want to do is wrestle with complex tax laws. Let us help you ease the transition from generation to generation, so you can focus on what’s important.

Bookkeeping

Picking your way through someone else’s books, whether poorly or meticulously kept, can be a nightmare, especially with looming deadlines and other expectations. We can help manage those books through bookkeeping support and training.

Dealing with the CRA

Facing down the CRA is exhausting at the best of times. Plus, missing steps could result in the CRA knocking on your door years after you thought the estate was fully taken care of. We can help you avoid that situation, giving you the confidence and peace of mind that the estate ends up where it’s supposed to.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is an estate?

An estate is the legal term given to the collective assets after an individual has passed away. It is a type of trust. For example, when someone dies, their house is often passed to family. In the short period of time before that happens, it belongs to the deceased person’s estate. If the house is not transferred, or if ownership is disputed, then it remains in the estate, is paid for by the estate, and any income is taxed in the estate.

What is a trust?

A trust agreement is a document explaining the rules for property held in trust for your beneficiaries. A trust will typically include mandates like protecting property in your estate, reducing estate tax, and avoiding probate.

What’s the difference between an estate and a trust?

An estate is a special type of trust, created when an individual passes away. A trust that is not an estate is used as a tax and wealth planning tool, often by higher net-worth individuals. At Volution, we take care of all aspects of estates and trusts, from accounting, to books to taxes.

What is included in your estate?

Your estate consists of all assets, including investments, properties and accounts, as well as any liabilities still owing at the time of death.

How early should I begin thinking about and planning for my estate?

We highly recommend planning for your estate when preparing your will – and the sooner the better. Wills and estates go hand-in-hand – the will dictates your wishes for the estate and the legal treatment of it. As accountants, we help ensure that the tax treatment of your estate is properly taken care of.

Do I need an accountant to plan out estate management?

No. However, hiring a skilled accountant is highly recommended. Tax specialists know the ins and outs of tax laws that impact estates, and can help you avoid common pitfalls. Likewise, they can leverage their knowledge to help you pay less taxes throughout the process.

Lethbridge Estate Accounting Services

Estate Accounting Services