Your Canadian Estate Planning Checklist

If something happened to you today, would the people you love know where to find everything? Most Canadians in retirement have thought about this. Most haven’t done anything about it yet.

In this episode, Zena and Nicole introduce the brand new Astra Estate Concierge Service and walk you through a complete Canadian estate planning checklist, including the digital assets piece that almost everyone misses. They cover exactly what needs to be organized, how the Cadence platform keeps everything secure, and what happens the moment a death certificate is brought in.

Show Notes: The Estate Planning Checklist for Canadians

Nicole: Hey, it’s Nicole and Zena here from Astra Financial, and today on the podcast we’re going to be talking about: if something happened to you, would anyone know what to do? We’re going to bring you through our brand new Astra Concierge Service, and it’s all about hitting the easy button when the unthinkable — the “if I die” moment — actually happens.

Nicole: So if you’re in the retirement chapter of your life, chances are that “if I die” tab has popped up in your brain at least once or twice. But that tab usually gets closed out pretty fast, because it’s overwhelming. It can feel kind of heavy, and it’s just a little bit intimidating. Questions like: where is all my stuff, both digitally and physically? Does my family know where any of this is? And how is this actually going to get taken care of if I’m not here?

Most people wish they had a big easy button for this, and that’s exactly why we created the Astra Estate Concierge Service. We wanted to help you get everything organized and then guide you through it step by step, so you don’t have to carry the mental load all by yourself.
Today, Zena and I are going to be talking about this brand new service and how we’re going to hopefully make this “if I die” tab feel a whole lot less scary and a lot easier for you and the people you care about.
Hey, I’m Nicole.

Zena: I’m Zena, and we’re certified financial planners here at Astra Financial. Our specialty is getting you ready for retirement and making sure that your money lasts your lifetime. And the topic today is making sure that everything goes smoothly and all the what-ifs are taken care of for you.

Why People Avoid the “If I Die” Conversation

Nicole: In retirement, this is something that’s definitely going to come up, and something you’ve probably thought about a lot. Before we get into the service itself, I want to talk a little bit about why we created it, and what the real problem is. Why are people so scared about talking about the “if I die” tab?

Zena: I’m so opposite on this one. I’ve got it all planned out, I talk about it all the time, and I have my “what if” binder ready to go. But if I put myself in other people’s shoes, it’s one of the hardest things, because we don’t have control over what happens after, and there’s so much we don’t know. The whisper just gets louder the older we get.

It’s like that urge to declutter. My mom would say, “I don’t want to leave this mess for you.” As we get older, having everything organized becomes really important, and so does having someone you trust who’s going to be able to take care of it. You want it to be as easy as possible. And that whisper just keeps getting louder.

The 3 Core Problems the Service Solves

Zena: This is about putting everything in one spot and having someone guide you through it, because it’s so overwhelming. You need someone to essentially do it with you, so you can sit down with a coffee, go through it, and think, “Thank goodness that’s done.” It’s why we hire a housekeeper.

Nicole: Exactly. And I think you’ve hit on the 2 biggest struggles here: getting everything organized and actually doing it. But there’s also the accountability piece, because even if you knew where 50% of the stuff was, actually going through it and getting it all organized is a whole different ballgame.

So what are the 3 biggest things the Astra Estate Concierge Service is solving? You’ve already touched on a few of them. For someone listening, what are we going to solve for them?

Zena: First, we’re going to put everything into one place. And then someone will have immediate access to it. It starts with gathering everything, having it all in one spot, digitally archived and saved, completely secure. And then when something happens, it triggers that access. That person knows where everything is because it’s already been laid out, and they also have the concierge roadmap showing them exactly what to do to settle everything.

Nicole: And that’s so important. We’re not just handing you the roadmap. We’re also guiding you every single step of the way. That mental load is real. There are unknowns, and there’s the emotional piece too. The people who need to be brought in are brought in, and we give you the roadmap for everything you need to do.

Zena: And there’s also an estate expert, an actual human being. Everything is stored digitally and is fully accessible, with all the resources and templates you need. But there’s also a phone call with an estate expert who helps guide you through the process. There’s even access to counseling services and grief support for people who need it.

What the Service Is and How Cadence Works

Nicole: It’s taking all sides of it, the before and the after.

Okay, let’s get into the service, because it’s so exciting. So if I’m a client and I listened to this episode and thought, “That sounds amazing. I’d love for all the people in my life to know exactly what to do when I’m gone” — and I’m sitting across from you, Zena, and I say, “Can you give me a feel for what this service actually is? How does it work? How is it secure?” Let’s talk about what it is.

Zena: So the program we’re using is called Cadence. The first step is gathering everything. And we already have a lot of it. If you think about it, we already have all your assets on file. Sometimes we have a copy of your will, and we know who your executor is. So hopefully we have most of that already. But if not, you’re going to gather that and bring it in.

You can bring in your passwords so that people know how to get into your laptop and your accounts.

Nicole: And that’s huge, especially in this digital age. People really underestimate how much information is locked behind a password.

Zena: A personal story: my father-in-law passed away, and they still can’t get into his laptop. The passwords to his banking were inside that laptop. You can imagine the estate settling issues that followed. There’s a personal reason why we’re so excited about this service.

So you’re going to gather all that information: where is everything, what are the logins, something as simple as your Facebook login, so that whoever you name will be able to have access. We’re going to sit beside you and help you, and our team will do all the data entry. Those are the things that start forming in your mind as you begin to pull it all together, and we bring it into one place.

Nicole: Tell me a little more about Cadence, because I think this is where you and I really got excited when we were building out this service. One of the things we loved about Cadence is that it’s Canadian.

Zena: Yes! It’s a Canadian company, and they work with financial advisors like us, as well as funeral homes. They’re also international. The site is secure just like your online banking or your online investment access — same idea, same level of protection. That’s where we did our due diligence. We’ve been working on this for a couple of years because we wanted to do a deep dive and make sure it was safe.

They’ve done all of that due diligence on their end as well. And this company offers real experts behind the platform. It was actually started by a woman here in Canada, and it came out of her own family’s experience. She has a story that really hit home for us as we’ve gone through our own family experiences.

Nicole: Yeah, and when we were doing our background checks and homework on who we wanted to partner with to bring this service to our clients, the Canadian piece was so important. It’s Canadian-specific, so all of the information and resources they offer are relevant to Canadians.

What a Session Actually Looks Like

Nicole: We’ve touched on it a bit already, but can you walk me through what working with us through this service actually looks like, step by step?

Zena: So here’s how it works as a client. You come in, and our team has already gathered everything. We do all the data entry while you sit with us. You’re having a coffee, maybe some chocolate, and we’re walking you through the dashboard showing you exactly where everything lives. You have full control of everything. We’re doing it all for you. 

Zena: But you as a client have full control over what information you want accessed, whether that’s by us or by the person you designate to have access to everything.

Nicole: So we’re doing all the heavy lifting on the technical side, but you are still completely 100% in control of the information.

Zena: Exactly. It stays here with us, and we do it one on one so that you don’t have to. Because you know what happens when someone gets an email with a link that says “set up your account here” and then lists all the steps? That’s usually when I don’t do it. It’s heavy. It feels like homework. It could be super simple, but there’s something about that “set up an account” email that just makes you keep moving on. We’ve taken that piece out entirely. We do it all for you.

But you also have access. You’ll walk away with a password and your login information, and you can go in at any time to take a look. You also have full control over who has access to your information and how much you want to include.

And then we follow up. It’s in our calendar to check in and update your file. We’ll meet again and ask, “Has anything changed? Here’s what you’ve got right now. Is there anything you’d like to add?” And you might say, “Oh yeah, I set up a new savings account. We should probably add that so people know where it is.” And we take care of it.

Nicole: Exactly. And honestly, this is a core Astra value: we never want to burden clients with homework if we can help it. We hate getting things that say “here are the 14 steps you need to complete” and then having to just close the email and never follow through. That was very much part of how we designed this service. We said, “We don’t want to put this on you.” So we do all the heavy lifting in the background, and you control the information. That part is entirely yours. But anything that involves setup or updates, that’s on us.

What Happens After You’re Gone: The Death Certificate Trigger

Zena: So once you’ve got it set up, you check the box, put it up on the shelf, and go live your life. We’ve taken care of everything. And then the big question becomes: what happens if something actually happens to you?

This is the part that kind of blew our minds, and it’s one of the most valuable pieces of the whole service. When a death certificate is brought in, it triggers access. That person you’ve designated, whether it’s your executor or whoever you want to handle everything, gets notified and now has full access to everything.

Nicole: And this part is huge. I honestly think this might be one of the most important parts of the entire service.

Zena: I agree, because it hands them everything and it actually walks them through each step of what needs to happen next. And that can be with us or it can be a fully automated process for them. And there’s a live estate expert behind it all who answers questions about where to go and what to do next. Everything is packaged in a clear, easy-to-follow format with the next step always laid out. It even includes a templated letter that goes directly to Service Canada, for example, if someone needs to stop CPP payments or claim the death benefit.

Nicole: Everything’s there. And I think that’s what makes this so meaningful, because it’s taking care of 2 things. It’s getting everything organized for you, but it’s also creating the roadmap for the people you leave behind. Even if you had the cleanest estate plan ready to go, if the people you’re leaving behind don’t know where the information is or what to do with it, that’s a whole separate problem.

Zena: And they’re busy grieving too. So we’re navigating all of that for them. The platform spoon-feeds the next step in a way that’s easy for everyone to follow, including us.

Nicole: We’ve both sat across from clients so many times going through the grieving process after losing a loved one, and then all the technical financial pieces pile on top of that. In a nutshell, we wanted this service to be a gift to our clients. We know it’s going to be a tough time, and we don’t want anyone to carry the mental load of figuring out where everything is or making sure their loved ones are taken care of.

What Makes Astra’s Approach Different

Zena: And this program isn’t unique to us. It exists for other professionals too. What is unique is that we’re doing it all for you. The white-glove, concierge approach is what sets this apart. When we were doing our due diligence, we found that other advisor offices may have access to this type of service, but they’re just sending a link to clients to set it up themselves. When I was calling around and asking how many people were actually using it, the answer was, “Not too many.” Because it comes down to that “set up your account, now download this, now upload that” cycle.

Nicole: And if we think back to the mental load piece, everyone has great intentions. Everyone thinks, “I’ll do it at some point.” But that some point just never comes.

Zena: Exactly, and there’s no follow-up. We’ve actually designated a team member in our office who sits with you and does it for you. You don’t have to strain your brain. You have a coffee, a little snack, maybe a chat, and then we revisit it on a schedule so it never falls off the radar.

Nicole: Absolutely. So bottom line, the Astra Estate Concierge Service is the easy button everyone hopes for when the unthinkable happens.