WHAT NOT TO DO

None of Mr. Lamarre's* relatives had any idea that his sudden death would plunge his family into a whirlwind of confusion and frustration. This is his story.

On the afternoon of September 11, 1994, during a party to celebrate his sister's 40th wedding anniversary, Mr. Lamarre collapsed following a severe and totally unexpected heart attack. He died before the ambulance arrived.

As you can imagine, it was a shock for everyone. But that was only the beginning. The following day, during the reading of the will, it was learned that Mr. Lamarre had named his brother, Ronald, as liquidator. The problem was that Ronald had died two months earlier, the victim of a tragic hunting accident.

The choice of a new liquidator was made in haste and confusion. Everyone volunteered, until they found out how much work it would involve. A few family members suggested entrusting the job to specialists, but after hours of discussion—much of it heated—the family decided to appoint Mr. Lamarre's sister Ginette as liquidator.

With the help of the deceased's widow and other members of the family, Ginette made the funeral arrangements. And, as so often happens during emotionally trying times, the family really pulled together, and everything went smoothly. However, once the initial shock wore off, things took a turn for the worse when Ginette started going through the documents and talking money.

Ginette discovered that her brother owned several pieces of real estate, had bank accounts at several institutions and owned substantial assets that no one knew about. Then there was the question of taxes, GST and PST reports to be filed, life insurance, RRSP contributions to be deducted, looking after the real estate . . . and all the while, the heirs were becoming impatient. Settling her brother's estate was quickly becoming a full-time job for Ginette.

Had Mr. Lamarre realized how difficult and time-consuming it would be, he would probably have found a way to make things easy on those close to him: entrusting his estate to specialists!

* Fictitious name