A new national survey reveals a critical estate planning blind spot - and a clear opportunity for financial advisors to step in
Most Canadians will say yes to serving as a loved one's estate executor. Few have any idea what they are agreeing to.
That is the central finding of a comprehensive national survey commissioned by ClearEstate Technologies, a Montreal-based estate planning and settlement fintech, and conducted by Canada Pulse Insights in October 2026.
The poll of 3,048 Canadian adults reveals a persistent gap between willingness and readiness when it comes to estate administration and points directly to a role advisors are well positioned to fill.
Nearly nine in ten respondents (89%) agreed that being an executor is a complicated and time-consuming responsibility that most people are not equipped to handle. But three-quarters (76%) said they would accept the role for a family member or close friend even without fully understanding what it requires. More than eight in ten (83%) said they would want professional support if the duty landed on them.
"There's a generous reading of this, which is that people want the person they trust most handling something so deeply personal," said Davide Pisanu, co-founder and chief executive of ClearEstate. "But there's also a less generous reading. We know the work can be painful and complicated, and we still ask someone we love to take it on without always doing enough to make their job easier."
The gap between intention and preparation
The findings carry direct implications for advisors who are working with clients on estate and legacy planning. Among Canadians who have a completed estate plan but have not used a professional executor, 82% have named a family member or friend to the role. Nearly half (44%) of those individuals are unsure how their named executor would actually locate key information - accounts, deeds, passwords - once the time comes.
The workload involved is not trivial. Among the one in five Canadians who have already served as an executor, the median reported time spent was 35 hours. Thirty-nine per cent devoted 50 hours or more, and another 17% lost track entirely. ClearEstate's own client data shows that even uncontested estate settlements typically span 12 to 18 months.
"People generally understand what it means to be someone's best man or maid of honour, and what those duties entail," said Will Daley, senior vice-president of research and analytics at Canada Pulse Insights, who led the study. "With executorship, there aren't those same baseline expectations. People feel honoured or obligated to say yes but may have no clear idea what the job will actually involve."
Trust is the dominant factor - and the key advisory angle
Despite broad recognition that the work is demanding, trust continues to drive who gets chosen. Among respondents who have appointed a family member or friend, 58% said they selected the most trustworthy person they know - not the most qualified or the most available.
That dynamic presents an opportunity for wealth managers and financial planners. Advisors who can position themselves as knowledgeable resources on estate settlement - rather than leaving clients to navigate it alone - are increasingly well placed to open the executor conversation as part of holistic planning.
Roughly 63% of respondents agreed it is unfair to ask a family member to manage all the administrative, legal and financial work of settling an estate without support.
Howvever, the preferred model is not to remove family from the picture. Asked whom they would name as executor today, approximately half (48%) chose a family member or close friend who could hire professionals as needed. Just 22% would opt for a fully professional-led arrangement, whether through a specialist service (13%) or a financial institution or trust company (9%).
That middle ground of a trusted relative supported by professional expertise, is where the advisory community can add clear, demonstrable value.
A broader market than advisors may realise
Pisanu argues that the estate planning gap extends well beyond high-net-worth households. Families with significant assets have long used corporate trustees, trust companies and family offices to handle the mechanics of wealth transfer while keeping relatives at the centre of the process. The new data suggests that model has relevance for a much wider population.
"High-net-worth families have long put mechanisms in place to separate the emotional side of inheritance from the financial work of transferring assets," Pisanu said. "What stands out in this research is that a much broader group of Canadians is open to professional help. The challenge is making those options understandable, accessible and, above all, trustworthy."
Fee transparency matters. Seven in ten respondents (70%) said they would feel more comfortable appointing a professional executor service, or using one alongside a family executor, if fees were clearly explained and significantly lower than traditional options. That signal is worth noting for advisors who are building out estate services or referring clients to specialist providers.
For planners looking to deepen client relationships during Canada's ongoing intergenerational wealth transfer, the survey data is a useful entry point. Advisors who regularly cover estate planning gaps with their clients, proactively, and before the paperwork begins, may find that the conversation opens the door to broader wealth management mandates.
The Canada Pulse Insights survey was conducted online among 3,048 Canadian adults on behalf of ClearEstate Technologies. The sample size is approximately two to three times larger than a standard Canadian poll, according to Daley, allowing for analysis across specific demographic groups.
