The Wisdom of a Will
Most of us prefer not to think about end of life, but planning for it can offer you and your family peace of mind. Wills are important at every stage of your life.
What is a will?
A Will is a written document that controls how your estate (your assets and your debts) is dealt with after your death.
Why is it important to have a Will?
A Will provides your family members with clarity and certainty about your personal wishes and financial matters.
A Will sets out the name of the person or persons you want to be in charge of carrying out your wishes (your executor). This person will be in charge of such things as distributing what you own, closing accounts, paying your debts and filing your last tax return. If you pass away without a valid Will, someone may have to apply to the court to be approved as the person to be in charge of your estate. This may add an additional burden to your family. There may be delay and additional costs to proceeding this way.
A Will can set out gifts to different family members, friends, and charitable entities. It can leave gifts of money, or specific items, such as heirlooms.
What happens to my estate if I do not have a Will?
Should you die intestate (without a Will) your estate would be distributed pursuant to The Intestate Succession Act. Your estate would pass to your next-of-kin, pursuant to the Act. You would be unable to leave specific gifts to charitable entities, friends, or other family members. It is also unlikely that you would be able to direct treasured heirlooms to the individual of your choice.
Why is a Will important if I have children?
A Will provides you with the ability to create a trust for your children. The Will would make clear when you want items or money to be given to your children, and possibly for what reasons money is to be withdrawn for your children. The items or money would stay protected under the trust in the meantime. In a Will, you would also have the ability to make clear at what age you wish your minor children to receive the items or funds under the Will, with an option to have the funds disbursed over time rather than all at once upon reaching a certain age.
You may also “appoint” a substitute guardian for minor children in your will. While the final determination of guardianship of a child is up to the court, appointing a guardian in your Will provides insight into your wishes, which will be considered by the court in deciding what is best for your children.
What information do I need to prepare a Will?
A good starting point is to begin preparing a list of all your assets and debts which will belong to your estate at the time of your death. This includes any bank accounts, insurance policies and pensions. You should include jointly held assets in this list. You should also think about who you want to receive your estate, and if there are any special gifts (of money or of special items) that you would like to make. We recommend that you think about an appropriate person to act as your executor and have an alternate individual(s) in mind, as a backup executor.
To assist, our office has prepared a general information sheet which we will ask you to fill out. Please email one of the lawyers at the end of the article to provide you with our general information sheet. This is the first step in preparing your Will.