Life spans are increasing. Consider that in Canada over the last
decade alone, life expectancy for those who reach 65 has climbed by
two years, and men on average who are 65 today can expect to live
to 84 and women to 87, while half of Canadians age 20 today will
live to age 90 and 10% to age 100. Perhaps it is nature's
balancing act that there is a longer aging period but at the same
time there also seems to be a longer maturation period for our
children which impacts our estate planning.
One of the perplexing questions faced by parents in their estate
planning is coming to grips with the question of deciding
appropriate ages for their children to inherit. From my own
perspective as an estate planning lawyer for over three decades, I
have seen a significant shift in that time span to later ages.
