Step One: Prepare a list of your assets and liabilities:
Assets
Liabilities - Mortgages, loans, credit cards
To determine the value of your estate, subtract your liabilities (what you owe) from your assets (what you own).
Not all of your property will pass under your Will. Life insurance, jointly held property, and survivor benefits of pension and other retirement plans will pass by contract or operation of law upon your death. Review the title of jointly held property and update beneficiaries named in your insurance policies and retirement plans. Proper planning should take your whole estate into account.
Step Two: List Your Beneficiaries
Next, make a list of those you wish to remember in your Will. You will want to provide for your dependants first, but here is your chance to be creative. You can give a work of art to a favourite relative, honour a friend or arrange gifts to organizations you believe in and support.
Step Three: Decide upon an Executor and an Alternate Executor
One of a Will's important functions is to name an Executor (personal representative) to settle your estate and carry out your Will's terms. Choose your Executor with care. The role is quite complex, involving filing tax returns, investing assets and valuing and selling (or retaining) property. The job of estate settlement includes submitting the Will for probate (proof of validity), safeguarding and inventorying all estate assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the net estate as the Will directs. If your estate is sizeable, select an Executor who is familiar with investments, business practices and sale of property. Or you might wish to name co-Executors, one a family member, the other a lawyer, bank or trust company.
Some helpful hints
Step Four: Writing your Will
If your estate is straightforward, your Will should be simple and may involve only a modest expense. There are several ways in which you can write a Will.
Write your own Will
A Will prepared in your own hand is called a holograph Will. Not all provinces recognize them as valid, and requirements, such as witnesses, may differ from province to province. Questions may arise as to your real intent and your estate could be tied up in court for many months. Your Will is too important to attempt without professional assistance. Don't try to draft your own Will and don't copy someone else's. Errors in the wording or omitting clauses in even the simplest Will could have expensive consequences for your heirs.
Your Lawyer drafts your Will
For an appropriate fee, your lawyer will draft your Will in precise language so there will be no doubt of your intentions. Laws that govern matrimonial property and dependent relief legislation affect your Will. The use of a lawyer will give you the assurance that your Will is valid and all legal requirements have been met.
A Trust Company drafts your Will
Most trust companies can help you prepare your Will. If you are already banking at a trust company, using the same company to help plan your Will and administer your estate may be very convenient.
Step Five: Signing and Witnessing of your Will
Signing and witnessing is critical to the validity of your Will and requirements differ from province to province. Don't do it on your own.
Witnesses
Step Six: A Regular Review
Once you have drafted your Will, don't allow it to become outdated. A Will drafted a few years ago reflects your thinking and lifestyle at that time. Consider what may have changed:
Tax laws - your Will should reflect the latest tax saving strategies.
Family circumstances - a birth, a death, or a move to a new province may indicate the need for a revision to your Will. Marriage necessitates a new Will.
Your investments - your stocks have increased (or decreased) in value. You have purchased property, acquired a work of art or started a small business.
Your wishes - you may now want to add a new beneficiary, change your Executor, or increase your support to organizations.
Important Documents
Keep the following documents in a place where they can be easily located. The information will help in making funeral arrangements and in estate administration.
Don't Hide Your Will
Many Wills have been lost, leaving family and friends with the same anxiety and financial burdens as if there were no Will at all.
Keep the Will in your Safety Deposit Box?
That's a common solution. However, in some provinces safety deposit boxes are sealed at death, pending certain tax formalities, and the Will is not immediately available. If you leave your Will in your safety deposit box, it would be wise to arrange for your Executor to have access to your box. Otherwise, upon your death, there may be delays in gaining access. The best solution, usually, is to leave the signed Will with your Executor, your lawyer, or with the bank or trust company named as Executor.
What's in a Name?
Accuracy in naming the individuals and organizations to which you wish to leave money or property is most important when you make your Will. Your Will should leave no room for doubt. Identify each beneficiary clearly and precisely. Use care, various organizations may have almost identical names. Organizations will gladly supply you and your advisor(s) with all necessary information.
What is Probate?
"Probate" is the recognition by the provincial court of the validity of your Will and the appointment of the person named as Executor. Granting of the "letters probate" is notice to the public that the Will complies with the basic formal requirements and that the Will was not being challenged at the time of probate application. There have been recent increases in provincial probate fees i.e. 200% increase in Ontario fees. Estate planners can assist you in avoiding or deferring probate fees.
If you would like to know more, please contact our Fundraising department at:
Telephone: 416- 491-3353
Toll - free: 1-800-563-5483
Fax: 416-491-4952
Email: plannedgiving@liver.ca or clfdonation@liver.ca.
