Everyone says they have a simple estate…until they don’t.

In the third episode in our Wealthhard mini-series on wills, estates, and planning for the inevitable, Brian speaks with Michael Kulbak, founder of Kulbak Trust Solutions, about what actually happens after someone dies…and what executors are really left to deal with.

Michael is a Toronto-based professional executor and estate trustee. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a Trust and Estate Practitioner, and has prior experience as a Chief Financial Officer, director and officer of both private and public companies. Today, through Kulbak Trust Solutions, he works with individuals, families and advisors as a professional executor, agent to executor, trustee, and attorney under power of attorney for property.

In this conversation, Michael walks through the real-life chaos of estate administration: funeral arrangements, frozen bank and investment accounts, probate delays, tax filings, family dynamics, beneficiary conflicts, vulnerable beneficiaries, “vulture syndrome,” and the constant executor experience of having to “hurry up and wait”. He also explains why even a “simple” estate can take 18 to 24 months—and hundreds of hours—to administer properly. Brian and Michael also discuss practical steps people can take now to make life easier for their executor later.

This episode is for anyone who has been named an executor, anyone thinking about who to name as executor, and anyone who assumes their estate will be “simple.” Because as Michael makes clear: being asked to act as executor may be an honour, but it is also a job.

This episode can also be found here or find us in your favourite podcasting app, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.