Welcome to Gertzbein Law
Bespoke legal services in Midtown Toronto
Life is full of surprises.
We help you to be prepared.
Gertzbein Law offers comprehensive wealth and estate planning for all sizes of estates, for all levels of complexity of ownership, with a focus on safeguarding your wealth, tax reduction, and, the enhancement of family harmony. We guide you in making strategic and well-informed decisions based on a careful consideration of all of your options. We ensure that critical estate documents are executed in a timely fashion as you endeavour to extend the safety of your wealth beyond the time that you hand over the torch of control and management of your wealth, as you plan for its succession.
Practice Areas
Estate Planning
Comprehensive succession planning and incapacity planning of domestic and foreign jurisdiction property for a variety of family structures, including difficult circumstances.
Wills
Single Wills, Mirror Spousal Wills, Mutual Spousal Wills with Domestic Contract, Multiple Wills to address multiple jurisdictions or privately held corporate shares.
Trusts
Discretionary Family Trusts, Spousal Trusts, Alter-Ego Trusts, Joint-Partner Trusts, Insurance Trusts, Trusts for Individuals with Disabilities, Trusts for U.S. Persons, testamentary and inter-vivos.
Private Corporations
Corporate governance, estate freezes, as part of comprehensive estate planning.
Estate Administration
Applications to Ontario Superior Court of Justice across all of Ontario, to obtain Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will, without a Will, for a Small Estate, or, limited to assets referred to in a Primary Will.
Powers of Attorney
Grant of authority to make decisions regarding property and personal care, including creating customized Powers of Attorney which are restrictive and conditional.
Joint Ownership
Discrete portion to protect assets, or, jointly with right of survivorship to transfer property outside the estate.
Beneficiary Designation
Gifts outside the estate on registered plans and life insurance policies, including to hold in trust for asset protection.
Appointment of Estate Trustee
Act as estate trustee on testate and intestate estates, including for foreign jurisdiction beneficiaries.
Meet Irit of Gertzbein Law
Irit Gertzbein, LL.B., TEP | Barrister & Solicitor
Irit practices trusts and estates law with a personal approach to working with her clients.
Irit prepares wills and trusts often involving multiple jurisdictions to minimize income tax and probate tax, to protect assets from creditors, and to provide guidance from the grave. That means wealth is preserved to your beneficiaries across the generations. Irit advises clients on incapacity planning strategies that safeguard assets and maintain family harmony.
Irit represents executors as well as beneficiaries and trustees of trusts, with respect to their rights and duties. Irit works closely with accountants, financial advisors, and insurance brokers on their clients’ estate planning matters.
She is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, and the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners. Prior to starting her sole practice, Irit practiced trusts & estates law at several major Toronto law firms.
Articles
What if a deceased individual died without a Will? Are remote issue of the Intestate Deceased entitled to rec…
In matters of Inheritance, Not All Nieces and Nephews are Equal
Holograph Wills - For Emergency Use Only
This article first appeared on The Lawyer’s Daily website published by LexicNexis Canada Inc. on November 16, 2019.
At first blush a holograph Will appears to be a quick fix to an otherwise pending intestacy, for free. Intestacy, the big bad wolf that comes kno…
Aging Population Affecting Estates Law: Capacity issues and litigation top trends
Estate lawyers are seeing a number of emerging trends in their practices, with capacity issues and litigation at the top of the lis…
The Continuing Power of Attorney for Property
The Continuing Power of Attorney for Property (“POA”) under the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30 (“SDA”) is an integral component of estate planning…
The Continuing Power Of Attorney For Property: To Exercise Or Not To Exercise
Every estates practitioner should be prepared for the day a client calls to ask: What can I do, what should I do, with the CPOAP granted to me, if I believe my mother/father is “losing it”…
European Succession Law Without Borders? Perhaps.
With increased globalization, family wealth may now span across multiple countries, and even continents. Upon death, a conflict …
More Articles by Irit Gertzbein
Gifting to Adult Children Responsibly
The Days of Wine and Roses… and Prenups
Understanding the Structure of Ownership
Digital Assets and Your Estate Plan
Planning with Trusts for Adults with Disabilities
Alter Ego and Joint Partner Trusts Principal Residence Exemption Unavailable to Family Trusts After 2016
United We Stand: Planning by Spouses Joint Ownership of Property (pros and cons)
The Mighty Power of Attorney for Property
Planning for the Family Vacation Property
Tax Free Savings Account
Organ Donation and Power of Attorney for Personal Care: Does the Estate Lawyer Have a Role?
Cherry Picking Valuation Date: Attorneys, Estate Trustees and the Big Lottery Win
Cherry Picking Succession Law, European Union Style
War of the Surviving Spouses – Who Gets the Pension?
Appointing an Executor
Estate Planning and the Modern Family
When Should the Appointment of Executor Be in Effect?
Preparing your Last Will and Testament