Make Your Will - It's Easier Than You Think
Last Will And Testament
Click here to view an example of the first page of a Will.
Making a Will is one of the most important things you will do in your life, because it governs what happens to everything you have earned and built and owned after you are gone. Don’t put it off or schedule it for completion after a lot of other things. You don’t know when it will be needed, but you know that sooner or later your loved ones will need your Will.
What to Consider When Writing a Will
Many Wills are relatively simple, and we can send you a fill-in-the-blank “Will Planner” document by email so that you can consider all the issues.
However, if:
- You are in a second marriage
- You have a “hybrid family” of children from different parents
- You have a spouse or child with a disability or a substance problem
- You want to provide a gift to a grandchild, or to a person with a disability, mental illness, or substance problem
- You want to give a temporary “life estate” in your home to give someone a place to live for the rest of their life
- You want to give a gift to someone who lives outside B.C.
- You own any property outside B.C.
then your Will isn't as simple anymore, and the people you leave behind will have problems if you don't make your Will carefully.
Based on your instructions and needs, we will conduct a comprehensive interview and will draft a Will that incorporates all the things you want to leave for your relatives and friends.
Without a Will
In B.C., it's not true that “the Government will take it all” if you don't make a Will before you die. But if you don't make a Will, the Government will control how your Estate gets distributed in a very rigid way, including possibly passing it to distant relatives you may not even know, if you and several close family members die at the same time. Even if that doesn't happen, your Estate may cost more and take longer to “Probate”, and so your loved ones will receive less than you intended. And if you don’t have a will when you die, your estate can really get tied up and complicated.
If you can't decide how to divide your Estate, come into our office in Burnaby and make a basic Will anyway to at least appoint a personal representative who will handle your affairs, and then think about your Will some more – but get at least something down on paper that is a legal Will and that will let you appoint the person(s) you want to control things after you are gone. We keep all Wills on computer disks, and so months or years later you can return to our offices, and we can retrieve a copy of your old Will on our computer and change it quickly and cheaply. But don’t delay too long.
For legal advice on Estate Planning and Wills, contact James K. Fraser in Burnaby Metrotown.