THE LAW IN PLAIN ENGLISH: WILLS

Wills are weird. Let's face it, the reason you need one is sort of a drag. A will is basically a document that states how your stuff should be given out when you pass away. Here’s the thing about wills and why it’s way more important to have one than you may think:

• You never know when you’re going to need it. The straight truth is that if you don’t have a will before you need it, you won’t be able to get one at the last minute if an unforeseen accident occurs.
• Before we learned about all of this stuff we just figured, “what the heck, we don’t have much, my spouse and kids would probably just get everything anyway.”  It sounds like fear mongering, but this just isn’t the case. If you haven’t taken the time to write things down the way you want them your stuff gets handed out according to Alberta’s intestate laws and there’s no guarantee that it’ll end up the way you want.
• It can help to avoid strife between family members. If you make a will and set out your affairs your family will know you thought about how things would be resolved. If you don’t, family members may have conflicting ideas that lead to unnecessary tension.
• Your stuff will get distributed by someone other than your choosing.
• A public trustee may end up looking after the stuff you leave for your children until they are of legal age.
• You won’t be able to choose who takes care of your kids, and even if a relative you like applies to have guardianship, this can take a long time and cost a lot of money.

We have a workbook you can work through to help you determine some of the important things you need to think about to make a great will. Here are a few of those things:

• Who are you going to give your stuff too? Family is typical, but sometimes charities or other organizations are part of the plan.
• What do you have? When you start listing all of your assets you may be surprised just how many things you have besides a house and vehicles. Paintings, jewelry, family heirlooms, insurance, investments, etc.
• Who will be your executor in charge of carrying out your wishes?
• If your children are minors, what plans do you have for them?