As part of our After Care program, I was recently assisting a man with some of the necessary paperwork involved in closing part of his mom’s estate. One of the questions I asked him was if his mom had a valid Canadian Passport? He replied that she did not; rather she had a valid British Passport. In the course of our conversation I asked him if I could look at the passport. One great part of my job is that I get to look at old marriage certificates, immigration papers, passports, or birth certificates. I love the stamps and seals or markings on these documents. Often the writing is very precise as well. This I find very interesting.
Inside his mom’s passport an IMM 1000 was stapled. He immediately declared, “So that’s where it is, I was looking for this.” I asked him what he needed an IMM 1000 for and he replied that this form is needed to apply for his Old Age Security monthly payment from the Income Securities Program. This document is the proof required that an individual was born outside of Canada and immigrated with his parents. This is not needed for the Canadian Pension Plan monthly payment, as this is based on contributions made to the CPP throughout one’s working career in Canada. However, ‘Landing Papers’, or form IMM 1000 is the Canadian Immigrant Identification Card required to apply for and claim the Old Age Security monthly payment.
It was a huge relief for this man to find the IMM 1000 as without this document, he would have had to go through a more arduous process. Can you imagine that after 55 plus years you might have to find your Public School report cards and then have them notarized to make a claim for your OAS monthly payment? In this case his school was no longer there – it had burned down years ago.
It was especially gratifying for him to find the IMM 1000 as his mom had suffered from Alzheimer’s for the past 8 years or so. It was a remarkable gift she gave him by being organized and stapling the Immigration Identification Card into her passport. This made the process of applying for his OAS from Canada’s income securities program so much easier.
When she was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s she continued to leave a loving legacy, by organizing her bank accounts and investments, closing her credit cards, selling her home, naming beneficiaries on her life insurance all to make the process or closing her estate as easy as possible for her son.
That’s leaving a loving Legacy!
If you immigrated into Canada with your parents and will be applying for OAS, maybe now is the time to find your Landing Papers so that your application process can be a smooth as possible.
Please send me your questions and feedback. Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a wonderful opportunity to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave a comment.
Until next time,
Kat
Tags: confirmation of permanent residence, funeral preplanner Toronto, funeral preplanning, IMM 1000, Kat Downey, landing papers and OAS, Legacy Matters, licensed funeral director Mississauga, licensed funeral director York Region, OAS, record of landing papers
Last week we discussed 
With the start of another New Year and the memories of the good times spent with family and friends receding, many people look at their overall Estate picture and realize that the funeral preplanning piece is still on their mental to-do list. To complete the funeral preplanning piece, you may have even made an actual list. Now is the time to cross this, mentally or physically, off your to-do list and achieve peace of mind knowing that you have taken care of the future the to the best of your ability.
As far as the Canadian Government is concerned, there are two important dates in our lives: our birth date and our date of death. Although we may not want to think about our own mortality – eventually this is going to happen so ensuring your personal papers are in order and readily accessible is highly recommended. Here are 3 Canada Pension Benefits that your executor should know about.
The best gift you can give your children during your lifetime is your unconditional love. The second best gift is to organize your important papers. I have worked with people who are suddenly thrust into the chaos of closing their parent’s estate with little or no knowledge of what they have. When asked if there is a company pension benefit that continues for their mom, the deer in the headlights look comes over their face and they say “I don’t know”. Similarly, when asked if their dad had personal life insurance or if the mortgage was insured, there is a uniformly vague answer, “I don’t know, Dad never talked about that kind of stuff”.
Many of us do not like to consider our own mortality. Yet, for people with courage and a sense of responsibility; they do draft a valid, up to date, properly witnessed will, reflecting their wishes for the distribution of their estate when they die. Unfortunately too many people die intestate, meaning they die without a will. It is estimated that 50% of Canadians do not have a valid will.
