What Happens to my Medical Corporation When I Die?

Short answer

Your corporation doesn’t disappear. It stays alive, but frozen. Until someone has legal authority to act, no one can touch the accounts, manage the assets, or deal with the records—and your estate may pay probate tax it could have avoided.

Long answer

When a physician dies, their medical corporation doesn’t automatically shut down. It keeps existing—but no one has authority to do anything with it until your executor is legally empowered. That includes accessing business accounts, selling investments, issuing dividends, or even logging into your EMR.

If your Will doesn’t deal with your corporation properly, your shares get tied up in probate along with your personal assets. That delays everything and triggers probate tax on the value of your corporate shares—even though that tax was completely avoidable.

This is where a secondary Will becomes essential. It’s not aggressive planning. It’s standard practice for incorporated professionals. One Will covers assets that need probate (like your home or personal bank accounts). The other deals with your private company shares—allowing your executor to act quickly, without waiting for a court certificate, and without paying probate tax on corporate value.  Read more about corporate wills -->

Used properly, this structure prevents delays, avoids unnecessary tax, and gives your executor the ability to wind things down efficiently—or pass them on, if that’s part of the plan.

I don’t offer corporate minute books or tax advice, but I do make sure your estate plan doesn’t create structural messes for your family. If you’re incorporated and your Will doesn’t include a corporate strategy—especially a secondary Will—your estate plan isn’t done yet.

Make sure you're not leaving behind a mess.

This content is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a lawyer about your specific situation.