Before Travelling: Consider Your Estate Planning Needs
Before Travelling - Will - Power of Attorney - Personal Directive - Trust - Estate Planning
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
For Canadian residents looking to travel out-of-country, it is important to make part of your travel preparations ensuring that you have a complete and up-to-date estate plan. Recognizing that an estate plan is not a static set of documents but a "living" strategy that must be calibrated to your current life stage, it is critical that you revisit your estate plan on a regular basis in advance of travel. Especially with recent shifts in international tax treaties and evolving legal requirements across borders, the importance of reviewing your Will, Personal Directive, Power of Attorney and other estate planning documents before departure has never been higher.
The most compelling reason to update your plan before traveling is the inevitability of life changes. Relationships are rarely static; marriage, divorce, or the birth of children and grandchildren can render an old Will not only obsolete but potentially harmful. For example, in many Canadian provinces, a subsequent marriage may affect the validity of a previous Will, or a divorce might leave a former spouse as an unintended executor or beneficiary. If an accident occurs abroad, an outdated Will can lead to "intestacy-like" complications where the law (rather than your current wishes) dictates who cares for your children or inherits your home.
Your financial position is equally prone to change, necessitating a fresh look at your estate's structure. You may have acquired new assets, such as foreign real estate or international investment accounts, which a standard Canadian Will might not cover efficiently. For Canadians owning property in the United States, for instance, the 2025 unified credit and tax treaty provisions are vital considerations to avoid double taxation. Without a plan that accounts for "situs" assets (assets located in a specific foreign country), your executors may face a grueling "resealing" process, where they must navigate multiple court systems and pay redundant probate fees before your assets can be distributed.
Furthermore, traveling involves risks to your physical autonomy that require proactive legal designations. A Power of Attorney for Property and a Personal Directive for Personal Health) are your "voice" if you become incapacitated in a foreign country. A Power of Attorney or a Personal Directive that is specifically drafted for your home province may be lacking in important clauses that are necessary to be recognized (or given full force and effect) by hospitals or banks in Florida, Mexico, or France. Reviewing these documents ensures you have appointed a representative who can manage your Canadian bills in your absence and provides a framework for medical decisions that align with your values, even when you are half-a-world-away.
The complexity of "forced heirship" and foreign inheritance laws also looms large for the international traveler. Some civil law jurisdictions, particularly in Europe and South America, have strict rules that mandate a certain percentage of your estate go to specific relatives, regardless of what your Canadian Will says. By considering these needs in advance, you can work with legal professionals to draft "multi-jurisdictional" Wills or separate Wills for foreign holdings. This prevents your estate from becoming entangled in foreign litigation, ensuring that your legacy is protected from "local" foreign laws that might otherwise override your intent.
As such, when you are planning to travel out-of-country, it is important to consider the adequacy of your estate planning arrangements and the legal documents properly protect you and your loved ones. International emergencies are chaotic; by having your legal affairs in order before you check in for your flight, you remove the burden of guesswork from your family. You provide your loved ones with a clear roadmap, the legal authority to help you, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly what you would want. This preparation ensures that a medical or legal crisis abroad doesn't transform into a lifelong financial or emotional catastrophe for your loved ones.
Ensure that you have complete and up-to-date Wills, Powers of Attorney, Personal Directives and other estate planning documents in advance of your travels, such that we welcome you to contact our law firm today at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
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