How to ensure your kids can keep your house when you die |
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By Jason Heath, CFP on November 19, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
By Jason Heath, CFP on November 19, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
A MoneySense reader wants to pre-fund the ongoing expenses for her house to make it easier for her kids to keep it when she dies.
Should I set up a living trust so my kids don’t have to pay to keep my house?
—Annette
This might seem like a simple question, Annette, but there is a lot to unpack here. I will try to touch on some of the considerations that come to mind.
A living trust, or inter vivos trust, that you set up during your life is most commonly used for tax reasons. People might use a trust for income splitting with lower-income family members using a prescribed rate loan or to multiply the lifetime capital gains exemption (LCGE) when planning the future sale of a business. Neither applies in your case.
If you are 65 or older, there is the option of an alter ego trust, which is most commonly used to avoid probate for large estates in high-probate provinces like British Columbia, Ontario, or Nova Scotia.
I would probably not use a living trust so that your kids do not have to pay to keep your house after you die though, Annette. Maybe a testamentary trust.
A testamentary trust comes into effect upon your death. You can create a trust or trusts for different beneficiaries, and you can leave a percentage of your estate or a specific asset in trust.
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