Workplace pensions
Your pension follows its own rules, not your will
Oshawa has long been home to General Motors’ assembly plant and the suppliers around it, as well as hospitals, colleges and public employers with registered pension plans. If you belong to one, the pension is often the largest asset you have, and your will has less say over it than you might think.
Your spouse usually comes first
Under Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act, if you die before your pension starts, the death benefit goes first to your spouse, if you were not living separate and apart, ahead of any beneficiary you named, unless your spouse signed a waiver. “Spouse” includes a common-law partner who meets the Act’s definition. Only if there is no eligible spouse does the benefit go to your named beneficiary or, failing that, to your estate.
After you retire
If you have a spouse when your pension begins, it is normally paid as a joint and survivor pension, so that payments continue to your spouse after your death, unless your spouse waived that right in the prescribed form. Your will can’t redirect it.
What this means for your will
- If you have remarried, your current spouse may receive the pension while your will leaves the house to children from your first marriage. That may be what you want, but check that the overall result is fair to everyone.
- A separation agreement or court order dividing the pension affects what is left to pay.
- Keep the plan’s beneficiary designation current; an old one can pay a former partner or a child who is still a minor.
Bring your most recent pension statement to the instructions meeting. Our wills and powers of attorney page explains the other assets that pass outside a will.
Before death
Who deals with your pension, bank and house if you can’t
Pension administrators, banks and the land registry deal only with you, or with someone who has legal authority to act for you.
A continuing power of attorney for property names that person. They can talk to your pension plan, manage your accounts, pay your property tax and, if it comes to it, sell your home to pay for care. A power of attorney for personal care names the person who makes health and housing decisions if you can’t, including a move to long-term care. You must have capacity when you sign both, so they are made while you are well.
If there is no power of attorney
If you become incapable of managing your property with no attorney in place, the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee can become your statutory guardian, and a family member who wants to take over has to apply to replace it or go to court. That takes time, costs money and leaves bills unpaid in the meantime.
Choosing your attorney
Choose someone honest and organized who lives close enough to deal with the house. If you name two people, decide whether they must act together or can act separately. We explain the choices, and the signing rules, on our power of attorney page; the package is $500 + HST, or both documents are included with a will in the $1,000 + HST single will package.
Why Wannes Law
A Toronto law firm that keeps you informed
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A licensed Ontario lawyer
Rosalie Wannes, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, is responsible for your file from start to finish.
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Fees before you commit
Instant online quotes and published flat fees, so you know the cost before you retain us.
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Every step explained
Plain-language explanations of what happens, what you provide and what we handle, at every stage.
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Direct access
Reach your lawyer and law clerk directly by phone and email while your matter is underway.
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Sign in person or remotely
Meet at our Sheppard Ave E office in Toronto, or review documents by video and courier the originals.
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English, Armenian and Arabic
Talk through your matter in the language you are most comfortable with.
At the Durham courthouse
What an Oshawa estate trustee will deal with
Probate for anyone who lived in Durham Region is filed with the Superior Court of Justice in Oshawa, so for an Oshawa estate the court is local.
The court
- The Oshawa courthouse is at 150 Bond Street East
- Applications can be filed there by email
- Estate administration tax: nil on the first $50,000, $15 per $1,000 above (as of 2026)
Smaller estates
- If the assets needing a certificate are worth $150,000 or less, the estate trustee can apply for a Small Estate Certificate, a simpler process
- A pension paid to a spouse or a named beneficiary is not part of that value
- Our Oshawa probate page explains which route fits
A rental near the campuses
- Around Durham College and Ontario Tech, rental properties must be licensed under the City’s rental housing licensing program
- Your attorney or estate trustee takes on the tenancies and the licence obligations; ask the City what is needed when ownership changes
- Our Oshawa real estate page covers selling a rental
How it works
From Oshawa to a signed will
We have no Oshawa office. The call, instructions and drafts are handled by phone, email and video; the signing is in person.
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Step 1: Book a free 15-minute call
By phone, at a time you choose. Then choose your package in the quote form; the price is shown before you book.
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Step 2: Give your instructions
We go through your family, your house and how it is owned, your pension and other plans, and anyone you support. You give instructions yourself, so there is no question later about whose wishes the will reflects.
You provide
- Your latest pension statement and any beneficiary designations
- Any separation agreement or court order
- Leases, if you own a rental
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Step 3: Sign with two witnesses
At our Toronto office. Where a medical or mobility reason makes the trip difficult, we come to your Oshawa home or to hospital, such as Lakeridge Health Oshawa. The lawyer confirms you understand the documents and are acting freely.
Home or hospital visit: $500 + HST.
Fees
Flat fees for Oshawa clients
A home or hospital visit in Oshawa adds $500 + HST, only where a medical or mobility reason makes coming in difficult. The person making the will must have full mental capacity. Services in English, Armenian and Arabic. See all our legal fees.
Get your instant quoteQuestions
Oshawa wills questions
Does my will decide who gets my workplace pension?
Usually not. Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act gives an eligible spouse priority to pension death benefits, ahead of a named beneficiary and your estate, unless the spouse waived it. Your will covers the pension only if it ends up being paid to your estate.
I remarried. Will my children from my first marriage get anything?
Only what your will, insurance or other designations give them. Your current spouse may be entitled to your pension and may have rights under Ontario family law. Plan it deliberately, for example with life insurance for the children or a trust in your will.
Where is probate filed for someone who lived in Oshawa?
With the Superior Court of Justice at 150 Bond Street East, Oshawa, which serves Durham Region. The application can be filed by email.
Can you come to Lakeridge Health Oshawa to sign a will?
Yes, where the person can’t come to our office for medical or mobility reasons, for $500 + HST. They must be able to understand the will and give instructions themselves.
Which package should I choose?
Most people choose the single will package ($1,000 + HST), or couples wills ($1,750 + HST), which include both powers of attorney. A will alone is $750 + HST. See our will packages.
Areas We Serve
Wills across Durham Region and the GTA
We prepare wills for families in Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and across the GTA. For real estate and probate in Oshawa, see our Oshawa page.
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Scarborough
Wills & powers of attorney for Scarborough clients. Our office is on Sheppard Ave E.
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North York
Wills & powers of attorney for North York clients.
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Markham
Wills & powers of attorney for Markham clients.
Here to help
Make sure your will and your pension point the same way.
Choose a package and see the price, or book a free 15-minute call first.
Prefer to talk now? Call (647) 707-7718 · Service in English, Armenian and Arabic