本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛１, Bonding:

In an instate estate, a bond is required to make sure that the administrator does a good job, protecting both beneficiary and creditors of the estate.

The value of the bond is usually twice the value of the estate.

Posting the bond with the court requires either willing individuals with sufficient net worth to step forward and provide evidence that they have net worth to cover the bond, or the administrator must approach a bonding company to provide security paid for by an annual premium similar to a life insurance policy premium. If the administrator has a good credit rating, the cost of the premium may only be hundreds of dollars, but the difficulty, time and aggravation in applying for and obtaining it is often considerable.

The costing of the bond will depend on several factors, including the value of the estate and the kinds of assets in it. This bonding requirement in an intestate estate is in contrast with an estate where there is a will. In that situation, unless none of the executors named in the will are from the province where the deceased lived and where the estate is now resident, the posting of a bond to ensure the executor’s proper and ethical administration is not usually required.

(Potential risk: if assign any relatives as executor, because they are no Canadian residents, a bond is still required. It might be a better choice to set a trust company as co-executor, need to seek help from the lawyer to understand the impact)更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net

Be aware of U.S. Estate Tax Implications on Death
Know the assets that expose you to U.S. estate tax
A Canadian non-resident alien is subject to U.S. estate tax on the total value of his or her U.S. estate that includes the following:
If your U.S. estate was 20% of your worldwide estate, you would be permitted a U.S. estate tax credit of US$291,160 (20% of US$1,455,800). This would make the first US$1,104,536 of your U.S. estate tax free.
Enjoy the small estate exemption
A provision in the Canada-U.S. tax treaty provided relief to Canadian residents with worldwide estates worth less than US$1,200,000. When this is the case the U.S. estate tax will generally apply only to real estate located in the U.S.

In an intestate estate where there are young children, with no will in place there is neither a trustee named to administer the minors’ inheritances, nor any direction about the preferred guardian.

 In the place of a named trustee for the child’s trusts, any funds they are entitled to will be held for them by the Public Trustee or Public Guardian of the province where the deceased lived until they reach the age of majority.

 To act as the guardian, someone will be appointed by the court based on the application put before it by the child’s surviving relatives.

 No matter how emphatically you state who you want to take on that role, the courts always have the final say on the child’s guardian.