You Can't Take It with You: The Common-Sense Guide to Estate Planning for Canadians

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

The common-sense approach of Sandra Foster, a specialist in wealth
management, is reassuring. Her broad experience in the field includes
membership in the Canadian Association of Financial Planners, and years
of writing on the topic for national publications. You Can’t Take It
with You is a long, very professional assessment of a complex topic that
the average person is likely to find intimidating.

In 20 well-organized chapters, Foster works through making a will;
distributing an estate in one’s lifetime; financial concerns and
strategies regarding death; financial power of attorney; taxes at time
of death; life insurance; trusts; gift planning; keeping records; and
more. Although the book is thorough, Foster warns the reader to seek
professional advice: her book “is not designed so that you can do it
yourself.” She notes, sensibly, that estate planning is a form of
caring for the people around you, your community, and the assets you
have saved and managed.

This book allows you to ask the right questions. It tackles difficult
matters in clear language with a question-and-answer format, checklists,
and practical examples. In brief, it is excellently done.