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For families
A common plan in a second marriage is to leave everything to the surviving spouse and trust them to look after the children later. It can go wrong. The surviving spouse can change their will, remarry or need the money themselves, and children from your first relationship may have no say.
Leaving everything directly to the children has its own problem: the spouse you live with today may be left without the home or income they need, and may have legal rights that change the outcome.
The short answer
Who receives what, when they receive it, and who pays the tax must be decided together. Blended family planning sets out in advance what your spouse receives and what your children receive. Life insurance can create a separate pool of money for one side of the family, so other assets, such as the home or a RRIF, can go to the other side with less risk of conflict.
Nearly 12%
of Canadian two-parent families were stepfamilies in 2021, according to Statistics Canada.
Suppose a $600,000 RRIF is left to a second spouse. A qualifying transfer can defer the immediate tax, but future withdrawals are generally taxable. What remains at the spouse’s death may pass under their beneficiary designations or estate arrangements. Your children may receive none of it.
If you instead name financially independent adult children, the RRIF value is generally included in income on your final return, creating a potentially substantial tax bill. That bill may reduce the estate you intended for your spouse, and the children receiving the RRIF may also share liability for the related tax.
Everything to the spouse. Qualifying transfers can defer certain taxes, but leaving assets outright to your spouse does not secure an inheritance for your children. Future spending, beneficiary changes and estate decisions can redirect what remains.
Old beneficiary designations. Separation or divorce does not automatically update the beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy or registered plan. An outdated designation may result in the money being paid to a former spouse.
Rights you did not plan for. Spouses and dependants may have rights that change what your will provides. Ask your lawyer how they apply to your family before the plan is final.
01
A private conversation about your family, past and present, and what you want each person to receive. No forms and no product discussion.
02
Who is in the family, what you own and how each asset would pass today.
03
We estimate where your current plan may leave someone short, and whether your estate will have enough accessible money to meet its obligations.
04
Where appropriate, insurance and beneficiary changes, coordinated with your lawyer and your will.
05
We recommend reviewing your plan after a marriage, separation, birth or death in the family, and help update it when circumstances change.
Yes. Separation or divorce does not automatically update the beneficiary on a life insurance policy or registered plan. Each policy and account carries its own designation, so review every one.
Enough to fund what you want one side of the family to receive without selling the home or drawing on what the other side receives. We start with your numbers: what each person should receive, what the estate will owe in tax and what is already in place.
Some estates cannot be divided as intended without selling the home. Life insurance death benefits are generally received tax-free and can be paid directly to the people you name, so one side of the family does not depend on the other to receive its share.
Insurance must be coordinated with your will, beneficiary designations and support obligations. It can reduce pressure to sell assets and help fund separate inheritances, but it does not prevent every legal claim or family dispute.
The first call and a preliminary estate tax estimate are both complimentary. You leave knowing where your current plan may leave someone short.
General educational information. Legal, tax and insurance decisions require advice appropriate to your circumstances.
Eagle Wealth Partners
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Serving families and business owners across Ontario. Markham, in person and online.
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Sami Majdalani is a licensed life and accident and sickness insurance agent in Ontario. Verify my licence on FSRA’s website. Insurance and segregated fund contracts are placed through HUB Financial, a managing general agency. Eagle Wealth Partners is paid by commission from the insurers whose products clients buy, and may also receive bonuses or other incentives from insurers. A full disclosure of the insurers we represent, how we are paid and any conflicts of interest is available on request.
Segregated fund contracts are individual variable insurance contracts issued by insurance companies. Any amount allocated to a segregated fund is invested at the risk of the contract holder and may increase or decrease in value.
Information on this site is general and is not legal, tax or insurance advice for your situation. Planning is implemented with your legal and tax professionals. © 2026 Eagle Wealth Partners Inc.
