- Most of Canada's own estate and tax rules turn on residency, not citizenship — where you actually live matters more than which passports you hold.
- Your will's scope An Ontario will is generally built to deal with your worldwide estate, but how effectively it actually operates on assets or legal relationships tied to another country…
Ontario is home to a huge number of dual citizens — people who hold Canadian citizenship alongside citizenship in another country, whether by birth, descent, or naturalization. For most day-to-day purposes, that second citizenship doesn't change much. For estate planning, it can matter quite a bit, in ways that are easy to overlook until an estate is actually being administered.
If you're a dual citizen living in Ontario, here's what's generally worth thinking through with your lawyer.
Why Citizenship (Not Just Residency) Can Matter
Most of Canada's own estate and tax rules turn on residency, not citizenship — where you actually live matters more than which passports you hold. But some other countries' legal and tax systems can attach obligations based on citizenship itself, regardless of where you currently live. A second citizenship can, in some cases, connect your estate to a legal system that has nothing to do with where you spend your life today.
This is precisely why dual citizenship deserves a specific conversation with your lawyer, rather than being treated as a minor biographical detail.
Areas Where a Second Citizenship Can Affect Your Plan
Your will's scope
An Ontario will is generally built to deal with your worldwide estate, but how effectively it actually operates on assets or legal relationships tied to another country depends on that country's own laws. Some jurisdictions have formal requirements for recognizing a foreign will, or expect a separate local will for local assets. Whether you need one Ontario will, or an Ontario will alongside a separate will for another country, is a question that depends entirely on your specific citizenship, assets, and the other country's legal system — not something to assume either way.
Forced heirship and other inheritance rules abroad
Ontario generally allows a testator broad freedom to leave their estate as they choose (subject to things like dependant's support claims). Not every country works this way. Some legal systems impose "forced heirship" style rules that require a fixed share of an estate go to specific family members, regardless of what a will says. If your second citizenship connects you to a jurisdiction with rules like this — particularly if you hold assets there — it's worth having that specifically reviewed, since it could limit what your Ontario will can actually accomplish for those assets.
Tax exposure tied to citizenship, not just residency
Most countries tax based on residency. A small number of countries tax based on citizenship, which can mean an estate remains connected to that country's tax system even after decades of living in Canada, and even if the person never held significant assets there. Whether this applies to you depends entirely on which second citizenship you hold — this is genuinely case-by-case, and it needs input from a professional familiar with that specific country's rules, not a general assumption in either direction.
Choice of executor
Some jurisdictions place restrictions or extra formalities on a foreign-resident or foreign-citizen executor administering local assets. If your estate includes property connected to your second country of citizenship, it's worth checking whether your chosen Ontario executor can practically act there too, or whether a co-executor or local representative makes more sense for that portion of the estate.
Powers of attorney and incapacity planning
An Ontario Continuing Power of Attorney for Property and Power of Attorney for Personal Care are Ontario legal documents. Whether they're recognized, and how, in another country connected to your citizenship is a separate question — one that matters if you spend significant time there, or hold property or accounts there that someone might need to manage on your behalf.
A Starting Framework for the Conversation With Your Lawyer
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Do I hold assets physically located in my other country of citizenship? | Determines whether that country's inheritance, tax, or forced heirship rules could apply to those specific assets |
| Does that country tax based on citizenship rather than residency? | Determines whether your estate could face tax exposure there independent of where you live |
| Would my chosen executor be able to act practically in that country if needed? | Determines whether a co-executor or local professional support is worth arranging |
| Do I have (or need) a separate will for assets in that country? | Determines whether one Ontario will is sufficient or whether coordinated wills are safer |
Frequently asked questions
Does my Ontario will automatically cover assets I own in my other country of citizenship?
Not necessarily in a fully effective way. An Ontario will is generally intended to address your worldwide estate, but whether it's recognized and works smoothly for assets located in another country depends on that country's own legal system — this needs to be checked specifically, not assumed.
Do I need two wills if I'm a dual citizen?
Sometimes, but not always — it depends on whether you hold assets in the other country and how that country's legal system treats foreign wills. This is a case-by-case determination that should be made with proper legal advice, ideally involving a professional familiar with both jurisdictions.
Could my dual citizenship expose my estate to tax in a country I don't currently live in?
It's possible, depending on which second citizenship you hold — a small number of countries tax based on citizenship rather than residency. This needs to be assessed against the specific rules of that particular country, not treated as a general risk that applies the same way to every dual citizen.
Should I mention my dual citizenship when I meet with an estate lawyer?
Yes — it's relevant information your lawyer needs to properly scope your estate plan, even if it ultimately turns out not to change much in your specific case. It's far better raised upfront than discovered after the fact.
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