Estate Planning

Have you completed your Last Will yet? If not, what are you waiting for? 

That is the message we have often repeated to our readers: the importance of a Will is necessary to keep your inheritance from going to the wrong people. We have written about the issue of  Intestacy. Intestacy occurs when no Will is left behind and the courts, or the provincial/territorial authorities, or another entity altogether, takes control of one’s estate. This has already happened with Amy Winehouse’s estate, as well as countless others. 

The reasons for not having a Will are usually twofold: 1) Young people feel as though they are too young to have a Will done (and probably feel as though they are lacking in assets), and 2) It’s considered expensive to get a Will done (there is a persistent belief that one needs a lawyer to help draw out a Will). This is how one’s legacy is lost: by not having a Last Will and Testament. 

If people were to dig a little deeper, there are always some type of assets people have: even if comes to things like phones or laptops. Perhaps the clothing you own is worth something? There are always things of value that you can find if you look hard enough, which is why a Will is always necessary. Obviously, the necessity for a Will increases as you get older and have children, but it’s something that people in their 20’s and early 30’s should also think about. You want to keep your legacy going! 

The fact that many younger people have more of a precarious economy to deal with, shouldn’t be the catalyst as to the reason as to why you put your Will off. Everyone should have a Will. You can read more about the reasons as to why people put off a Will here: The Angus-Reid poll on why Canadians don’t have a Will.

Divorces are obviously messy affairs: they involve hurt feelings, anger, and messy financial and legal complications. When you get divorced, that is a good time to re-evaluate your Will and estate plan. You have to consider not only splitting up your assets, but your insurance policies, Power of Attorney, Living Will, retirement and more. 

The very first thing you can do is to reassess and change your Last Will and Testament (that one is obvious). You’re most likely going to want to change up your Last Will  and change who your beneficiaries are. You may want to remove your ex-spouse as your Executor (if you have that person listed as your Executor). If you have step-parents, step-children and the like, you may also want to make the same changes to your Will. 

Divorce can change your estate plan in its entirety. The following other steps should be taken to change up your estate plan: 

1. Change your Power of Attorney (for the same reasons you would change up your Last Will). 
2. If you have a Trust, you may want to have it changed. You may want to consider a domestic asset trust. 
3. Re-evaluate your insurance policies (who is going to be a beneficiary on your life insurance, for instance?) Are you going to have a new beneficiary? 
4. Splitting up your retirement accounts (this should be obvious). It may be a complicated and tedious process to go through, but one that is necessary, however.

Divorces can be hard to go through, and the legal paperwork to wade through can also be a lot to do deal with: it can be tiring, emotional and wear you down. All of these are necessary tasks to engage in when you are divorced. Your estate plan should be changed, just like how everything else in your life will change after a divorce. You can read more by clicking on the link below: 

Divorcing? Here’s how to update your estate plan.

It sounds tedious and confusing; estate planning can dredge up images of being buried in paperwork. Single adults who feel as though they may not have much in the way of assets *cough* millennials *cough* still have to plan for their estate. If you do not have a spouse or children, you still need to plan, even if you feel if you have little in the way of assets.  

Consider where are you at in life and what assets you DO have. You do not know how life will change and how things will work out later on down the road. When you pass away and you have debt, the debt will be paid off through your assets and your estate (if you live in Alberta).  If you are an adult who is planning to gift your valuables and your income away, you aren’t likely going to know what changes are coming down the road or when you’re going to pass away. Spending everything during your lifetime may not be realistic. Later in life, when people try to ensure something is passed down to their beneficiaries, people try to leave as much as possible. You may not want to spend all of your income and assets for short-term pleasures right away. 

There are also Power of Attorney documents and Living Wills to consider: in the event something happens to you and you wind up in a coma, these documents ensure that your money and health is taken care of. It’s best to get all three documents done. People don’t usually think of getting these documents complete until they reach their their 30’s or 40’s. It is recommended that one should create (or at least think about) starting these documents around their later 20’s. That is around the time when their careers are starting out. Find out more information by clicking on the link below: 

Estate Planning for single adults.

Both Millennials (born roughly in the early 80’s) and Gen Z (born roughly around 96′ and 97′) are struggling in an economy that has seen the price of everything increase. Job prospects are more difficult and saving for retirement is much more difficult than it was for earlier generations. Estate planning is, however, still important for everyone, no matter how few in the way of assets and possessions a person may think they have. Gen Z is no different; they may believe they have fewer assets than their parents, but they still need to engage in estate planning. They also have different values than other generations, and that needs to be respected when it comes to estate planning. 

The first thing to note is that Generation Z is the first generation to practically be born with phones in their hands; they are more adept with  technology than their parents are. This can affect the way they plan for their estate. As previously mentioned, they have different values from their forebearers; they’re more likely to volunteer and put themselves behind political and social causes. This effects what they value in life and where they want their charitable donations to go.

They are also more likely to want to create their own (tech) startups. That may mean that  leaving assets in a discretionary lifetime trust would be beneficial for members of Gen Z. You can read more tips on how estate planning is different for Gen Z here.