Cecile designs estate plans and helps clients navigate through the administration of trusts and estates.

Cecile Ko Brock is Counsel in the Trusts and Estates section of McCarthy Tétrault’s leading tax group in Toronto. Her areas of specialty are wills, trusts, estate planning and estate administration. Cecile is designated as a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) by the internationally recognized Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Known for her personable approach, Cecile helps clients create estate plans that are customized to their unique family dynamics and business needs. She advises clients on probate tax planning, incapacity planning, business succession, estate freezes, family trusts, digital assets, planning for disabled beneficiaries and charitable giving. She acts for individual and corporate clients and provides thoughtful and creative advice that is bespoke to each client.

Cecile advises estate trustees/executors, trustees and beneficiaries of their rights and duties and guides them through the administration of trusts and estates. She also advises attorneys on the management of a donor’s property and personal care. She is experienced in managing sensitive family situations and developing solutions to provide clients with peace of mind.

Cecile’s achievements in trusts and estates law are widely recognized by her peers and colleagues. In 2024, she was awarded the Hoffstein Book Prize by the Ontario Bar Association for her achievements and outstanding contributions to the area of wills, trusts and estates. She is also a two-time recipient of the STEP Canada Scholars Award for Best Essay (2020 and 2023) having achieved the highest grade for two of her three essays submitted to obtain her TEP designation. The award recognizes the author of the most outstanding essay submitted annually and represents “a fusion of scholarly rigor, insightful analysis, and the art of written expression, showcasing the recipient’s exceptional understanding and engagement with complex legal and financial concepts.”

Cecile has specialized exclusively in the area of estates and trusts since she was admitted to the practice of law and is a frequent speaker and writer on these topics. She has written articles in the Estates, Trusts and Pensions Journal, Estates & Trusts Reports (Carswell), and Your Guide to Charitable Giving and Estate Planning, and co-authored a chapter in International Succession (Oxford University Press). She presents at continuing professional development programs on estates and trusts topics at the Law Society of Ontario and the Ontario Bar Association.

Cecile earned a Juris Doctor from Queen’s University, a Master of Laws (with Distinction) from the University of Warwick and an Honours Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction) from the University of Toronto. Cecile is a member of STEP, the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association and the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers. Cecile volunteers on STEP Toronto’s Membership Committee and as a supervising lawyer with Pro Bono Students Canada on trusts and estates law projects.