Guardrails, not a windfall
Each part of the gift is tied to a moment you choose, so it arrives with a purpose instead of all at once on an eighteenth birthday.
Legacy Account · Conditional gifts
A gift that waits for the moments that matter.
Set money aside for someone you love, invested for the long run and released in stages when the milestones you choose are reached and verified. A graduation. A first home. Their twenty-fifth birthday.
Invite-only right now
Named in someone’s gift? Sign in with the email we wrote to.
- Canada only
- Gifts from $10,000
- You pay only after you’ve signed
Sample accountIllustration
For Simon, from his grandmother
Portfolio value today$37,850$30,000 gifted · +$12,850 growth · $5,000 released
- High school graduationReleased at 18 · transferred in kind$5,000
- Post-secondary enrolmentWith the Milestone Verifier$15,000
- Age 25 · the rest of the giftScheduled · subject to verificationRemainder
Held at our brokerage partner (CIPF member)
The portfolio stays in your name at the brokerage until each part is released.
Two independent reviews
A Gift Administrator you choose confirms the facts, then a Milestone Verifier (a partner law firm or your own lawyer) confirms the terms were met.
We move the instruction, never the assets
Takes A Village never holds, receives or moves the gift itself.
Set the terms once. We keep them for as long as it takes.
- 01
Set the terms
Choose the gift, the milestones that release it (an age, a graduation, a life event or your own words) and how much each one unlocks. Name a Gift Administrator to confirm claims, and choose who verifies them: our partner law firm or your own lawyer. It all goes into a Deed of Conditional Gift you sign online.
- 02
It grows, quietly
You fund the portfolio directly at a registered brokerage partner, never through us. It’s invested for the long term, and regular statements, notices and tax slips land in your document vault.
- 03
Verified, then released
When a milestone arrives, the Beneficiary submits proof. The Gift Administrator confirms the facts, the Milestone Verifier confirms the terms, and we instruct the brokerage to transfer that part of the portfolio, in kind, to the Beneficiary’s own brokerage account.
Everything a conditional gift needs, without the filing cabinet.
Formal terms, without the hourly bill
A signed Deed, versioned documents and a record of every decision, for a flat setup fee instead of open-ended drafting and yearly administration.
Time on its side
A gift started early has years to stay invested. Markets rise and fall along the way, and nothing about future returns is guaranteed.
Words that arrive with it
Add a letter or a short video to any milestone. It stays sealed until that part of the gift is released.
Formal legacy planning, priced like software.
$299one-time
Platform and Deed
- Your Deed of Conditional Gift and Schedule “A”, signed online
- A document vault for statements, notices and tax slips
- Your first milestone
- Each additional milestone
- $49
- Each amendment, later
- from $49
- Each video Legacy Message
- $20
Written messages cost nothing.
Your choiceof reviewer
Two reviews for every release
- Partner law firm
- $250 per milestone, prepaid at setup, so nothing is owed years from now. Reviewed by our partner law firm.
- Your own lawyer
- Set by your counsel and paid to them directly. Nothing to us.
- Gift Administrator
- No fee, or an optional stipend you set, collected at setup.
1.5%of assets a year
Portfolio management
Charged by a registered brokerage partner, not by Takes A Village, for managing and holding the portfolio. It isn’t part of what you pay us.
Example3 milestones reviewed by the partner firm: $299 setup + 2 × $49 extra + 3 × $250 review = $1,147 at setup, then nothing more to us unless you amend or add a video.
How the transfer works
Securities in kind, not cash.
When a milestone is verified, nothing is sold and nothing passes through us. The brokerage moves the actual investments from the gift portfolio into the Beneficiary’s own brokerage account, where they can stay invested for as long as the Beneficiary chooses.
Until each release the portfolio is held in your name, so its income and gains are generally reported on your own tax return. Talk to your tax advisor about your situation.
- 1Condition met
The Gift Administrator confirms the facts. The Milestone Verifier independently confirms the terms of the Deed were met.
- 2Instruction sent
Takes A Village sends the release instruction to a registered brokerage partner. We move the instruction, never the assets.
- 3In-Kind Asset Transfer
The securities arrive in the Beneficiary’s own brokerage account, with a notice of the transfer in their documents.
Similar conditions, typically at a fraction of the cost.
| Cost | The traditional route typical ranges | Legacy Account |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest practical gift | Often $250,000 or more | $10,000 |
| Drafting and setup | $2,500 to $10,000 | $299, first milestone included |
| Changing the conditions | $400 or more per change | From $49 per amendment |
| Yearly administration and filings | $1,500 to $4,000 a year | No yearly fee from us |
| Investment management | 1% to 2.5% a year, often with a yearly minimum | 1.5% a year, charged by the brokerage |
| Legal review of each release | Usually billed by the hour | $250 per milestone, or your own lawyer’s rate |
Traditional figures are typical Canadian ranges for a lawyer-drafted arrangement administered by a professional firm, shown for context only. Actual costs vary by province, provider and complexity, and a Legacy Account doesn’t do everything such an arrangement can. None of this is legal, tax or investment advice.
Before you start
- Who can open one?
- Adults living in Canada, for anyone they choose. Gifts start at $10,000 and are held in Canadian dollars.
- What if the Beneficiary is a child?
- You name a Guardian, who can follow the gift and submit proof on the child’s behalf. At 18 the Beneficiary signs in for themselves.
- Can I change the terms later?
- Yes. Add a milestone, change conditions or replace an administrator with an amendment, from $49, plus the review fee for any milestone you add. Each one is signed and kept as a new version of the Deed.
- Who sees the balance?
- You always do. You can keep the dollar value private, so the Beneficiary sees only growth as a percentage until the value is revealed.
- What happens if I die?
- The gift carries on. Your executor reports the passing, releases pause for an estate review hold, and then the milestones continue as you set them. Executors can report a passing here.
- Is my money with Takes A Village?
- No. The portfolio is held at our brokerage partner (CIPF member) in your name until each release. We keep the terms, run the reviews and send the instructions.
Most people finish in one sitting
Start something they’ll find years from now.
Set the milestones, name your Gift Administrator and sign the Deed. The gift stays invested until it’s time for each part to be released.
Takes A Village Financial Inc. is a technology and administrative platform, not a bank, law firm or investment dealer. We record the terms of each gift, run the reviews, prepare the documents and send instructions; we never hold, receive or move the gifted assets. Investments are held and managed by a registered brokerage partner, a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Milestone verification is provided by independent legal counsel. A Legacy Account is a conditional gift made under a Deed of Conditional Gift; it is not a trust and does not create one. Investing involves risk: the portfolio can lose value, and the examples and projections on this page aren’t guarantees of future results. Nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice. Card payments are processed by Stripe.