Will Not

Major avoidance, major.

You can get away with that attitude about your will and estate planning right up until about the day your firstborn arrives.

Sorry to be that nagging voice but we really do want the best for you and your kids, and having a proper will is all part of that.

For advice on this dreaded task, we’ve enlisted Susannah Roth from law firm O’Donohue & O’Donohue.

It’s About the Plan
For parents of young kids (or not-so-young if you have been on that avoidance train), one of the most important reasons to have a will is the appointment of a legal guardian. Should a tragedy occur, YOU know that you chose the guardian of your children—not the courts.

Avoiding family fights about who-gets-what, making sure that your assets are disposed of as you wish, and having your family know that you cared enough to plan for them are all worth the trouble of drawing up a will.

There can also be important financial incentives. Tax planning considerations, such as spousal trusts, can be addressed through the estate planning process. Also, if you die without a will, legal costs for estate administration and guardian appointment will be higher (and the process will take longer and could be harder on your family).

The Power of What?
Choosing a power of attorney is another fun decision (not) that should be considered. Who would you appoint to make decisions for you about your personal care should you be unable to make them yourself? And who would you appoint to make decisions for you about your property and assets? 

These questions can be addressed by two separate documents, the power of attorney for personal care and the power of attorney for property. Without a properly executed power of attorney for property (or a costly and time-consuming court appointment), your family cannot access your bank accounts (unless they are jointly held) or do anything with any of your assets.

Once you have made the difficult decisions about whom to appoint as guardian or executor, the process of getting a will and powers of attorney is easy. You will meet with the lawyer to provide instructions (usually about an hour), the lawyer will draft your documents and send to you for review and then you come back for another short meeting to sign them. That’s it.

A basic will is offered by most legal firms for about $500, and powers of attorney are usually another $125 to $250 each.

Your lawyer can even draft your will so that you don’t need to draft a new one should you have more children. So no more meetings (or fees) after that. 

The DIY Approach
And what about those DIY will kits? Not recommended, according to Susannah who tells us that there are many, many court cases on record which were all made possible (from the lawyers’ point of view) by the use of will kits. People mistakenly fill them out incorrectly, misspell names, don’t have them executed properly…lots of room for error. 

If you choose to do all this without a lawyer, the best course of action is to write out your wishes in your own handwriting. As long as you make this so-called holographic will all in your own handwriting, sign the end and date it, it is completely legal, and will most likely be much more intelligible than the results of a will kit would be. 

So say goodbye to Major Avoidance and bring on General Got-a-Will. 

If you have questions for Susannah Roth, she welcomes your inquiries at (416) 361-3231 or by email at Susannah.roth@odonohue.ca

Alberta
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Ontario
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