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Can I appoint a trust company as trustee for my children?

Yes. It provides continuity and expertise where no family member is suitable, at the cost of fees.

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

Yes. It provides continuity and expertise where no family member is suitable, at the cost of fees.

The Canadian position

Yes. It provides continuity and expertise where no family member is suitable, at the cost of fees.

Provincial law governs administration, so confirm the position where the estate will actually be administered.

The Islamic position

The fixed shares apply to the net estate after funeral expenses, debts and any bequest capped at one third.

Where a Canadian mechanism has no classical counterpart, treat it as a contemporary question for a qualified scholar.

Researched — the schools differ

They are two different offices, and classically they sit in different hands. Hadanah — day-to-day care — goes first to the mother and down the female line, in an order every school sets out differently. Wilayah — authority over the child and over the child’s property — goes to the father and, after him, to the wasi the father named. The schools differ sharply on the order of care, on the age at which care ends and whether the child then chooses, and on whether the grandfather or the mother holds guardianship of property at all.

All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Hadanah and wilayah — who cares for a child, and who has authority over the child.

Related madhhab issue: When does a child get their inheritance outright?.

Note

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

Citations & sources

Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.

Canadian legislation & government
  1. T3 Trust Guide — Canada Revenue Agency
Further reading — Treadstone Law
  1. Trustee fees family trust ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Corporate trustee vs family member ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Trust for minor children ontario will — Treadstone Law
  4. Cost to set up a trust in ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law