Ah ok clearer.... No feel free to refer to me specifically ... How about the children going home...wouldn't that make intention clear? Best thing to do is not to die just yet obviously!

Yes, not dying is a useful tax planning technique. If children are involved I think it is important to have a serviceable will. The rest can really be left until you have made firm decisions about your future.

Which is why the question opening the thread was restricted to a very basic situation without all those complications.

Not that real experiences are something to be ignored,of course.

You've made me realise that I too had better defer my demise till my affairs are in better order...thank you for starting such a thought prompting thread.

That's all very well, but what if you're being left something?

Both countries?
Forget the idea of "countries" when thinking of wills and estates. Ontario has different laws to Alberta. England is different to Scotland.

Normally you require just one will at any one time. Although a lot of lawyers seem to advise making multiple wills, the risk of the different documents contradicting each other is high. Not clear why anyone would want to do that without having an especially good reason.

You say you have a U.K. (English, Scottish or Northern Irish?) will already. That should normally be valid in your Canadian province unless it is defective in some way. For example, if the provincial law required three witnesses and you only required two where the will was made, there might be a problem. Your first step should be to check with a local lawyer if your U.K. will would be acceptable in your province.

Except that you should understand that children aren't property, so cannot be left to someone else in a will. The family courts of your province of residence would have the say in how they were looked after and although they probably would take account of your written wishes to some extent, this would depend on facts and circumstances at the time.


Short answer, if your home is still in the United Kingdom (and if you have not obtained permanent resident status in Canada, it almost certainly still is) you are still liable to U.K. Inheritance Tax. Which in turn depends on how much is in your estate.

There was an interesting (to me at least) case in the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) that involved non-domiciled status in the UK. This was the case of Black, C.

The facts were that Black, C was a Canadian resident who moved to the UK to take up an appointment. He lived in the UK for several years then, after a sojourn in the United States, returned to Canada. The CRA attempted to tax his considerable worldwide earnings for these years.

Black, C argued that he became a tax-resident of the UK and the CRA had no right to tax any of his income for the period until he re-established residence in Canada. The TCC looked at the UK / Canada tax treaty and determined that he indeed had become a tax-resident of the UK. Therefore the CRA could not tax his UK earnings. However, they also noted that Black, C had taken advantage of the non-domiciled rules in the UK. These rules are that if a person is resident but not domiciled in the UK they are only taxed in the UK on their UK sourced income and worldwide earnings remitted to the UK. Any worldwide earnings that stay offshore are free of tax in the UK.

The TCC stated that tax treaties are created to avoid double taxation, not to enable double non-taxation. Therefore, if Black, C's worldwide income was not taxable in the UK it was taxable in Canada.

Black, C is appealing (the case, not his personality).

And how about Barbara?