The Dangers of DIY Wills
It is never to early to think about protecting your family & assets.
Drafting your own will may sound exciting and cost-efficient, however, if you do not know what you doing a small mistake can end up costing your family and friends thousands of dollars or leave them in difficult positions. Writing your own will is risky business without the correct guidance. You need to keep in mind key elements such as estate trustees, beneficiaries, and inheritance tax. If you make a mistake in drafting, it may be declared null and void.
Source: Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General – this is a good source to answer basic questions and help one understand wills, trusts and power of attorney.
Our lawyers work with clients in Ontario to draft and execute wills and estate documents.
Creating a comprehensive estate plan requires you to make some difficult decisions. The lawyers at AYOUN LAW always tell their clients to take the time to think about their personal plan. Deciding who will receive which assets takes up most of the decision thought process. A strategy in drafting goes into place so that your loved ones will not need to pay more inheritance tax than they should.
With a well-drafted and strategized will you control how your estate will be divided, minimize inheritance tax, exclude the people you do not want benefiting and ensure all the wishes you have are legally binding.
What are the Benefits to Drafting a Will?
The purpose behind getting a well drafted will is to leave a clear legacy that will give you certainty and confidence in the following:
- That your dying wishes be upheld
- List all the people you want to benefit in the will (beneficiaries). These people could be anyone such as friends, pets, organizations, spouses or even your neighbour
- Protection for your common-law partner
- Have the lawyer draft a certain percentage of the estate to be allocated according to your wishes
- Have listed a Estate Trustee, someone who you trust that will carry out the wishes in the will honestly, diligently, and in accordance with the law
Having this all drafted in the right manner is key. Anyone who has assets should have a will and it does not have to be a lot of assets. Always keep in mind the default in the legislation, for someone who dies without a will, the law may be completely contrary to what their wishes were. Having a will drafted is not restricted to an age group but it is advised for anyone who has assets and may be over the age of 18.
Dying without a will (called dying intestate) means the law then determines how your estate or property can ben distributed leaving loved ones struggling to prove certain wishes you may have expressed. You do not want legislation (intestacy rules) assigning your estate somewhere you do not want.
Common Law Partners
If you and your partner are not married and have been in a common law relationship for over three years and have children from your relationship, your family will not automatically benefit from your death if you do not have a clear will setting out the terms of distribution. Essentially it will not matter how long the two of you were together. Your partner may end up spending thousands of dollars in Court to prove your wishes, the best way of ensuring your wishes are secure is to have it set out in a well drafted will.
Complex Wills
Our lawyers write highly competent wills that deal with overseas property, businesses, or shared property with individuals other than your family. Further, we deal with drafting certain clauses for dependent family members and draft the will to ensure your estate will continue to provide for them.
How often should a will be updated?
Family structures, personal wishes and lifestyle is very fluid, and it continues to ever evolve. A will should ideally be updated every five years or so to accommodate your lifestyle, relationships, and other materialized changes. Our lawyers are able to provide you legal advice for an existing will and assist with amendments. Further, our services include the process of safe storage of your will.
The Stats? Our stats show just over half of our client’s do not have wills. A LawPRO survery claimed about 56% of Canadians do not have a will in place. It is highly encouraged individuals have this conversation with their loved ones. We also suggest talking to loved ones about their out-of-date wills or changed intentions. With the world Pandemic taking place we can never be too safe with our estate planning. Leaving without a will can end up leaving family and friends in exceedingly difficult positions.
Ask for further information. Call For A Free Consultation: 905-232-2793
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