Published September 8, 2026 · Legally reviewed by Jaspreet Kaur Daley, Ontario Lawyer
For new parents, estate planning involves more than choosing who receives property. Consider who could care for your child, who could manage an inheritance, and who could make authorized decisions for you during your lifetime. Those are different roles, even when you are considering the same person for more than one of them.
A useful first planning conversation does not require every answer. It does require making the questions visible instead of assuming that one name in one document covers everything.
From our estate-planning practice
In Jaspreet Daley’s meetings with parents of minor children, two questions commonly need the most discussion: whom the parents would want considered for the children’s care if neither parent were able to care for them, and how a child’s inheritance should be held in trust and managed while the child is a minor.
The trust discussion can involve different options and is not only about choosing a trustee. Parents may also need to consider how the arrangement should work for their family. These decisions deserve separate attention: the person considered for a child’s care may or may not be the same person chosen to manage an inheritance.
Start with three separate responsibilities
- Your child’s care: Who would you want considered for caregiving and decision-making responsibility if the applicable circumstances arose?
- Your child’s inheritance: Who should manage money held for your child, and what instructions should govern its use?
- Your own lifetime decisions: Who could act for property or applicable personal care if you were unable to make the particular decisions yourself?
The distinction helps a lawyer turn a general wish to protect your family into specific planning questions.
Can a Will appoint a guardian for a child in Ontario?
Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act permits certain appointments by Will concerning a child’s decision-making responsibility or guardianship of property. These appointments are subject to statutory conditions. A Will does not automatically override another person’s existing legal rights or conclusively settle every future parenting question.
The appointee must consent. An effective testamentary appointment generally expires after 90 days unless the appointee applies within that period for an appropriate court order; in that case, it continues until the application is disposed of. Other applications and the court’s authority remain possible. When making a parenting order, the court considers the child’s best interests under the applicable law.
Ask the lawyer to explain exactly when a proposed appointment would take effect in your family’s circumstances. Avoid treating a guardian clause as a guarantee that no court process could ever be needed.
What should we discuss with a proposed caregiver?
Before settling on a name, have a practical conversation about willingness and circumstances. Consider the person’s existing responsibilities, location, practical ability to act, relationship with your child, ability to keep siblings connected, and willingness to support the child’s important relationships and needs.
Record the issues you would like the lawyer to consider. A person can care deeply about your child and still be unable to take on the role. Identify an alternate rather than relying on a single conversation that may become outdated.
You can also prepare a separate, regularly updated note about routines, important contacts and family preferences. Ask the lawyer how such a note should relate to the legal documents. It should not be mistaken for a binding substitute for a Will or parenting order.
The caregiver and the trustee are different roles
Day-to-day care and management of an inheritance require different decisions. A Will can contain trust provisions that identify a trustee, explain permitted uses of funds and establish when a beneficiary receives control, subject to the governing law and drafting.
The same person may be considered for both roles, but there is no reason to assume that is always the best arrangement. Discuss communication, accountability, possible disagreement and the ability to respond to the child’s needs.
Hypothetical, not a client story: Parents in Oakville are considering a close relative as caregiver and another trusted person to manage an inheritance. Their useful planning question is how those people would communicate about the child’s needs and what the documents should authorize. Simply naming both people without explaining their different roles would leave important work unfinished.
What about life insurance and registered accounts?
Bring the actual beneficiary information into the discussion. Do not assume that a trust clause in a Will automatically governs every payment intended for your child. Asset ownership, beneficiary designations and trust wording need to be considered together.
The purpose of this review is to identify how the intended support would reach the right arrangement. It is not a reason to change a beneficiary designation without advice or to buy a financial product simply because you are preparing a Will.
Parents also need to consider incapacity planning
A Will does not authorize decisions while you are alive. Ontario’s Powers of Attorney guide distinguishes lifetime authority from estate planning after death. Discuss both a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care, along with suitable substitutes.
Keep the documents and their purposes separate in your mind: your own POA is not the same thing as an appointment concerning your child’s care. Our Property versus Personal Care POA guide explains the difference.
A first-meeting worksheet for parents
Care: The people we would like to discuss as first and alternate choices are ____. The practical concern we need advice about is ____.
Money: The people we are considering to manage an inheritance are ____. We want to ask how funds could be used for the child’s needs and when control should pass to the beneficiary.
Lifetime authority: Each parent’s current POA documents are ____. The appointments or gaps we need to review are ____.
Coordination: Our existing Wills, family agreements, insurance and beneficiary records are located ____. The information we still need to confirm is ____.
You can bring an incomplete worksheet. It is a conversation aid, not a legal instrument or a test of your readiness to obtain advice.
Does the Family Protection Plan cover our situation?
Mand Daley Law’s Family Protection Plan offers coordinated Wills and Powers of Attorney for suitable, straightforward couples for $1,500 plus HST. It includes two coordinated mirror Wills, two Continuing Powers of Attorney for Property, two Powers of Attorney for Personal Care, two Affidavits of Execution, lawyer consultation, individualized drafting, a secure questionnaire, phone or Zoom review, coordinated signing, a Will Guide and a Power of Attorney Guide.
The initial discussion helps identify whether the package fits or whether specialized trusts, blended-family issues, disability planning, business interests or other circumstances need separately scoped work. Do not assume that every form of trust planning is included in the base fee. The scope and any additional work should be explained before you decide to proceed.
Make a start that fits family life
Families in Mississauga and the GTHA can begin with an initial conversation: Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation. Choose phone or Zoom. Document review may occur by phone or Zoom and signing arrangements are discussed privately.
Learn more about Wills and estate planning, read why a Will matters in Ontario, and explore Powers of Attorney.
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General legal information only. Parenting, trusts and estate planning depend on your circumstances and current Ontario law. This article is not individualized advice. A lawyer-client relationship begins only after the firm confirms the engagement and the required retainer is completed.