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We have previously posted about the reasons as to why many put off completing a Will. One reason has to do with the fact that people are wary of discussing their personal matters with a lawyer. Many are unaware that they can, in fact, draft up a Will without a lawyer. You do not need a lawyer to create a Will for you, and if your estate and assets are straightforward, you can draft a Will yourself using online will software.

If you choose to create a Will without a lawyer, you may want to think about what goes  into your Will, including the following: a clause revoking former Wills and testaments, specification of your city/town, appointing an executor or person who will carry out the terms of your Will, appointing alternate executor(s), etc. You also want to ensure that you have a fairly good idea as to where your assets, estate, gifts, charitable donations, etc., are all going to go. In addition, you want to have a good idea as to who the potential Guardian of your underage children will be. This can be done through online Will software, without a lawyer. If you feel you require legal advice, however, you may want assistance from a lawyer.

If you choose to create a Will without a lawyer, you need to initialize and sign the document in the correct places. You may want to have two independent witnesses localized within your area to witness and sign in the document in the correct places as well. That is all you require to make your Legal Will valid, without a lawyer. Notarizing documents is a question that often arises as well; people question if they need to have their Will notarized by a lawyer. Notarization is essentially a seal or a stamp on your document, which  shows that the document is authentic. Notarization may only be necessary for a Power of Attorney and it is not necessary for a Last Will and Testament.  How are these documents different from a Last Will and Testament? A  Power of Attorney is a document that deals with your financial matters while you are alive, and a Living Will deals with your health matters while you are alive. Both documents are vastly different from a Will, which only deals with matters relating to your estate/assets AFTER your death. Unlike a Will, a Power of Attorney may require notarization, but all three documents can be created without a lawyer present. Again, if you require legal advice, you may want to seek the assistance of a lawyer.

Those are the basic items you need to know about creating a Will without a lawyer, how to make a Will valid, what notarization entails, and what the difference is between a Will, a Power of Attorney and a Living Will.

Can an Executor be the same individual appointed to be a Guardian? This is one of the main questions that often pops up when a person is creating their legal Will. First off, it’s important to distinguish between the two roles: an Executor is the person whom you appoint to disperse your assets, estate, charitable donations, handle your debts, sell off your assets, arrange for trusts, arrange funeral arrangements, and take care of all of the other duties you have listed for him/her in your legal Will. In short, the Executor (also known as a Trustee), is the person whom you have appointed in your legal Will to look after all of your stuff and to make sure that your loved ones are taken care of, with the amounts you have left behind in your estate.

A Guardian, on the other hand, is pretty much self-explanatory: this is an individual appointed by you to look after your underage children in the event of your passing. Typically, this person could be a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a trusted relative, or a close friend. There are several questions to ask yourself about appointing a Guardian for your child(ren) in your Legal Will: Is your Guardian going to outlive you? If mom and dad aren’t the best choices, would your spouse be alright with one of your siblings as a Guardian? If you appoint someone to be a Guardian, would that offend someone else? There is a laundry list of questions to consider before picking a Guardian.

Likewise, there are many things to consider when choosing an Executor: Is this person on the same page as you about your finances should be spent? Does this person have anything to gain from your assets or your estate? Can this person handle the responsibility of being an Executor? Consider writing down the pros and cons of your choices for an Executor, and your choice for a Guardian, and decide from there.

Can a Guardian and an Executor be the same individual? While individuals do at times appoint the same person for both roles, there are a host of questions to consider when going this route. For instance, can the same individual trusted to handle the finances of your estate also be trusted to look after your child(ren) and juggle both responsibilities? Does he or she have the same outlook on managing your estate and managing your child(ren)? What does your spouse think? Does your spouse want your choice of Guardian and Executor to be the same person?

Keep in mind that an Executor (much like a Guardian) may not be suited for the role later on. That person may turn down either role, or your relationship may deteriorate later on. That is why you may want to keep your legal Will updated after a certain amount of time.  Remember that as life circumstances change, so should your legal Will.

You are no doubt familiar with the importance of having a Last Will and Testament, and about how you should have one in place in case something happens to you.  If you are among the 51% of Canadians who do not have a Last Will and Testament (as confirmed by a  nationwide 2018 Angus-Reid poll), you probably have a laundry list of reasons as to why you just keep putting it off. Among the variety of reasons are as follows:  25% of Canadians think they are too young to have a Last Will and Testament; 23% claim they do not have enough assets to make investing in a Last Will and Testament worthwhile; 8% simply do not want to think about it; 18% cite expensive legal costs; 5% believe that a Will is far too time consuming to fret over and finally, 2% of the respondents do not want to discuss their personal details with a lawyer. 

Of those 51% of Canadians who DO have a Last Will and Testament, only 35% have one that is up to date. That means that major changes in people’s lives (i.e. births, deaths, etc.), are not reflected in their Wills. Older Canadians (55 and up) are more likely to have an updated Last Will and Testament (Atlantic Canada being the exception to this).  Atlantic Canada is populated with older residents who are far less likely to have a Last Will and Testament in place. In Ontario, a large majority of the population do not have a Last Will and Testament. This is mostly due to the fact that Ontarians are typically younger and therefore, do not think too much about their assets (many are between the ages of 18-24). Older Canadians without a Last Will and Testament also use that same line of reasoning to put off a creating a Will: a perceived lack of valuable assets. The reality is that everyone has something of value to put into their Last Will and Testament, so conducting a thorough inventory of your assets and estate is very important. 

British Columbia and Quebec differ from the rest of Canada simply because of the fact that a large majority of people in each of these provinces have a Last Will. In Quebec, at least 58% of the population has a Last Will and Testament. Overall, women across Canada are less likely than men to have a Last Will and Testament in place (46% of women vs. 53% of men). Many female respondents often point to significant legal costs as the major culprit. Men however, are far more likely to cite the discomfort of discussing death as the major reason for putting it off. 

Canadians with higher incomes (i.e. $100,000 and above) worry more about keeping an updated Last Will and Testament.  Much like people with lower incomes, there is a hesitancy about discussing income, finances, assets, estate plans (and any other personal matters) with a person to whom they are not fully acquainted with (i.e. a lawyer).

The Angus-Reid poll cited that only two in five households in Canada making less than $50,000 have a Will in place.

We have cited several reasons as to why Canadians do not have a Will. If you are among them, you may want to rethink your decision, especially since there are inexpensive alternatives to using a lawyer — FormalWill.ca is one such option. 

We know. We know. You probably have a laundry list of reasons as to why you don’t have a Will. You may be among the 51% of Canadians who don’t have one. Everyone needs a Will. If so, you may want to read on about why you need a one, along with some common myths about creating a Will: 

1.  I am married, so everything just goes to my spouse. This is without a doubt, false. Depending on where you live, the authorities can decide to whom and to where your assets will go when you pass away. If you die intestate (i.e. without a Will), your assets are not automatically going to pass on to your spouse or your family members. Major celebrity deaths, (i.e.Prince, Amy Winehouse, etc.), have often been superseded by lengthy courts battles over the money and gifts left behind by the deceased.  With no proper Will in place, there have been drawn out court battles, explosive fights among family members, and little idea as to who gets what. Despite the fact that you may not be a celebrity, you may not know if something similar could happen to you; not having a Will in place can not only lead to confusion among your loved ones, but lawyer and administration fees can all eat away at your estate.

2. A Will is complicated. Many people put off creating one  for the sole reason that they believe it’s going to be complex, difficult, or hard to muddle through.  However, this document simply designates to whom and to where your assets will go, who is the designated beneficiar(ies) of your property, guardian(s) for your underage children, designating specific gifts for your loved ones, and if you have any charitable donations to leave behind. It is not that complicated to make one when you have access to online software — FormalWill.ca can help you create your own Will.

3.  I don’t have any witnesses to sign my Will. Doesn’t a lawyer do that? Actually, there are a broad range of people who CAN be witnesses. Usually, those who take on the role of being witnesses (i.e. those who are to properly sign, initialize, and witness your Will)  are individuals who do not have some sort of interest in gaining anything from your estate. Therefore, you may want to use someone as a witness who is over the age of 18, is not a beneficiary , and is not part of your immediate family. That may help to avoid any conflict of interest while witnessing and signing your document.

4. You need a lawyer to create a Will. This is a common misconception, and one that often keeps people putting off  from creating a Will. There is no legal stipulation anywhere that says you need a lawyer to help you draw one up for you, nor sign it for you. You can make one  by yourself without a lawyer through software. However, if you feel that your situation is too complex to do on your own, then maybe, yes, you would rather sit down with a lawyer to get it done. Either way, everyone needs to get it done. 

We hope that this makes the process of creating your Will easier. Everyone needs one. You can create one right away through FormalWill.ca.