Advisor Help Centre

ClearEstate is a technology company that offers a one-stop-shop platform for estate planning and settlement. Its state-of-the-art technology allows it to offer flat-fee plans for estate planning and settlement at a fraction of the cost of traditional routes. Estate planning services include expert guidance and implementation of wills, POAs and trusts, and planning for advanced needs. Estate settlement services include filing for probate, assets and liabilities inventory, terminal and clearance tax filings, and professional executors.

We're proud to be backed by prominent Canadian institutional investor, OMERS Ventures, launchpad Diagram, which is backed by one of the largest Fintech funds in the world, Portag3 and NA Ventures, the venture capital arm of the National Bank of Canada.

The ClearEstate team is composed of customer service specialists, trust officers, paralegals, will and estate attorneys, and estate and tax accountants. Combined, they have decades of professional experience helping and serving clients in all matters related to estate planning and estate settlement.

We support all Canadian provinces coast to coast, as well as some jurisdictions in the United States including California, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Texas.

ClearEstate uses bank-level encryption technology and two-factor authentication to ensure sensitive data is always secure. Download ClearEstate's Security & Compliance datasheet.

ClearEstate does not offer legal advice (for example, litigation) or financial advice. For most cases, legal advice won’t be required. However, if during the 30-minute free consultation, we identify that there is a unique need that cannot be accommodated, ClearEstate will suggest a relevant professional.

The online will product is not available in Quebec. It is available in English only in all other Canadian provinces.

Through your Advisor Portal, you can create and manage your client referrals. You can refer to this guide How to refer a planning client to learn how to proceed.

While creating a referral, the platform provides you with a tool to match your client to the best solution according to their situation. If your client has simple needs, you can invite them to do their Will themselves through our self-serve solutions. If your client has a more complex situation, you can book a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation with one of ClearEstate’s estate solution advisors. You will both receive an invitation to the meeting directly from ClearEstate. During the consultation, ClearEstate will ask questions to understand the client’s needs better and recommend suitable service options. If the client chooses to purchase a service plan, they will be given access to the ClearEstate Client Platform to schedule an introductory meeting and start the estate planning or administration process with ClearEstate.

Alternatively, you can send your client this booking link (clearestate.com/iAPW) where they will be able to schedule the consultation themselves.

Pricing brochures can be found in the Resources section of this page and shared with clients. ClearEstate will provide clients with a quote for the service offering upon completion of the initial consultation meeting.

Depending on the nature of your practice, there are several ways.

a. Routine update meetings provide an ideal platform to inquire about the status and recentness of a client’s will and power of attorney documents, their executor selection and estate distribution plan. By recognizing and addressing this need during these regular interactions, it not only avoids the need for scheduling an additional meeting but also paves the way for proposing a complimentary consultation with ClearEstate.

b. Insurance planning or renewal consultations represent an opportunity to segue into a discussion about estate planning. These meetings typically revolve around crucial matters like protecting the client’s family, assets and legacy. This conversation creates a natural transition to discuss ClearEstate’s offerings. Ensuring a clear alignment between the client’s estate planning documents and their financial strategies is of paramount importance. Emphasizing this during the conversation could enhance the client’s understanding and acceptance of comprehensive financial protection.

Yes. You will be invited to their free consultation and, with their permission, to their introductory meeting with ClearEstate.

Yes. If the client consents to share this information with you, you’ll be able to have “view only” access to the client’s ClearEstate Client Platform.

Upon acceptance of the service offering from ClearEstate, the client will decide whether to grant their advisor access to their information on the ClearEstate Client Platform.

Should the client grant access, you can choose your level of involvement, ranging from attending meetings with ClearEstate and the client to solely reviewing the information uploaded by the client on the ClearEstate Client Platform. Please note, you’ll only be able to see client estate plans if the client grants you access.

ClearEstate is equipped to serve a wide range of Canadians, based on the complexity of estate needs, including those who prefer a DIY approach and require only an online will, as well as those who seek guided assistance. The referral flow offers a tool to help you match your clients to the best solution for their situation.

ClearEstate's offerings are built to handle 99.9% of the clients that want to use our services. However, there is a .1% of clients whom we are unable to serve.

This group is comprised of clients with significant complexity requiring highly specialized legal and tax advice. This often relates to people with highly unique business interests and people whose business interests span on a multi-national level.

Examples of clientele that cannot be served by ClearEstate:

Your client has recently transitioned to a senior officer position in their company which is publicly traded. The client holds interests in the company and is looking to update their estate plan to reflect their new position. Complexity arises from the client requiring highly specialized tax planning as well as special considerations concerning corporate and securities legislation, depending on the significance of the interest-stock exchange rules.

You identify that one of your clients has yet to draft an estate plan. The client is a major shareholder in businesses in Canada, the United States and South America. Your client will need specialized estate planning as the estate rules and laws vary from country to country. Your client will need planning expertise in those countries to ensure their interests can be met and to draft any supporting documentation required to execute their interests in those countries.

A client has mentioned that they need to update their estate plan. This client has a partial interest in a joint venture comprised of multiple different business entities. The complexity for the client involves matching the interests of the planner with the interests of the involved parties. These interests tend to evolve, and over time consensus is often difficult to obtain regarding how a venturer's exit strategy. This is further compounded when your client has multiple different ventures that they are involved in.

How can ClearEstate help in these situations?

Although we cannot directly serve these clients, we can still facilitate a connection to the right partner who can. ClearEstate can bridge the gap between identifying the complexity and detailing the complexities to an external partner.

ClearEstate is equipped to serve a wide range of Canadians based on the complexity of their estate needs, including those who prefer a DIY approach and require only an online will and those who seek guided assistance. However, some solutions might not be available for Quebec-specific clients. The referral flow offers a tool to help you match your clients to the best solution based on their situation and location.

The passage of Bill 34 by the Chambre de notaires du Québec necessitates a minor difference in the estate planning process for clients in Quebec. The legislative update requires that all notarial wills and protection mandates, while still signed digitally, be executed in person before a notary, with limited exceptions.

As such, after completing the initial stage of the planning process with ClearEstate, clients will meet virtually with our external notary partner, Cain Lamarre, to review and verify their plan. Subsequently, an in-person meeting with the notary will be arranged for the client to sign their notarial will and protection mandate.

In 2024, ClearEstate entered into a partnership with Quebec-based law firm Cain Lamarre. With over 300 legal professionals including lawyers, notaries, and tax experts located across the province of Quebec, Cain Lamarre is active in all areas of law, particularly trusts and estates. Cain Lamarre serves as a key partner to provide external professional services in notarial matters and estate law to meet the needs of our Quebec-based clients.