Should I have a will?

[GP_Matt]

I have been giving it some thought lately and am fairly unsure.

I am in my early 30's, married with no kids.
We have somewhat significant (to us anyways) assets and liabilities and such.

Everything in my name has my wife as a benefactor and vice versa or is in a joint account to begin with. We married when we were broke so neither of us came into the marriage with any real assets nor have we inherited or received any gifts of large value.
If one of us were to pass away without a will would everything just transfer to the survivor?
If both of us pass away do our parents split things equally or are siblings and more distant relatives included for a share. Or does it become a messy battle before the courts?
What if we are in an accident where one person is killed instantly but the other one survives for two weeks before succumbing to their injuries? Does the family of the longer living spouse collect everything?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

I have been giving it some thought lately and am fairly unsure.

I am in my early 30's, married with no kids.
We have somewhat significant (to us anyways) assets and liabilities and such.

Everything in my name has my wife as a benefactor and vice versa or is in a joint account to begin with. We married when we were broke so neither of us came into the marriage with any real assets nor have we inherited or received any gifts of large value.
If one of us were to pass away without a will would everything just transfer to the survivor?
If both of us pass away do our parents split things equally or are siblings and more distant relatives included for a share. Or does it become a messy battle before the courts?
What if we are in an accident where one person is killed instantly but the other one survives for two weeks before succumbing to their injuries? Does the family of the longer living spouse collect everything?

Yes, although you might not think you have much to you name, I believe that should you or/and your wife die, it will make it easier to those left behind to pick up the pieces.

Again, this is my opinion.

I will say if you do a will make sure you update it as major life events happen.

[Regulator75]

Yes, PM Troutman

[Minnie]

Yes. My sister-in-law passed away without an official will and we were fortunate that it didn't turn into a major rigamarole.

We lost a good friend on Saturday, who had no next of kin listed, as he was estranged from his family (a family member is still living but has no control over their faculties so they could not be consulted). Instead, several of us were listed as his emergency contacts and who he wanted to be contacted should something happen. And, something did happen, and we were at his side when he died.

He had a will but never told anyone, and didn't tell anyone where it was located. We spent hours yesterday digging through all his papers, to find it. Fortunately we did. However, he does not, to the best of our knowledge, have anyone appointed as some sort of POA, so we have been told this will all go through the social worker now and his estate will be appointed a guardian.

I also suggest that you put a personal directive in place, stating your wishes - our friend did not have one, and because all his friends were not listed as or given POA, we could only be there as he passed. We know he wouldn't have wanted as much intervention as there was at the beginning, and he'd voiced as much at different times, to all of us, but he had no directive that the hospital could go by. However, he deteriorated to such a degree they knew that further intervention was futile, and removed all support. It was very gentle and peaceful, his passing, but it could have been sooner, which is what he would have wanted.

Please, please - put a will in place, and draw up an advanced directive regarding what measures, or the lack thereof that you want should things get bad for you. Make sure your family is completely aware of your wishes as well, so it's not a surprise for them.

[ken0042]

I've seen people fight over the stupidest things. When my one grandmother died; she was almost out of money. She had a few thousand dollars to her name, and no possesions of any real value. My cousins ended up fighting over the stupidest things; including something small that my grandmother had told my dad and uncle that it should go to me.

Then you have the flip side, where my other grandparents died, with very specific instructions in the will, and we all decided on a split that was more fair. (My sister was out a bunch of money for child care for my niece; due to my mom having to stay with my grandparents in their final days.)

I think with the questions you raised at the end of your post, you have answered your own question.

[GP_Matt]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Yes, PM Troutman

I don't live in Calgary. I am not sure if this is the sort of thing that should be done in person.

[WhiteTiger]

If you have any sort of care about the disposition of anything of yours...yes.

If you don't care and want to make things harder on those still alive who will be responsible for your things...don't bother.

[stampsx2]

Holographic wills are legal in Alberta. I don't understand the point of spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer for a will that expires anyway. Maybe if you have a big business with major assets.

I suggest at least having a holographic will that's signed by you and your spouse and a friend to witness and sign. If you want to go all out, then pay the $60 for a notary to witness and sign it.

Rant
One last thing, include in your will who you would like the government to transfer all your cpp contributions to. It won't do anything, but the government might get a good laugh out of it.
/rant

[TorqueDog]

Should you? Yes.

Will you?



... I'll see myself out.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Yes it's a good idea. Everyone should have a will.

If holographic wills are valid in Alberta it wouldn't hurt to do one yourself (in your handwriting) with clear instructions.

You should pay for a lawyer to do your will because a lawyer will ask you questions and prepare your wishes taking into possibilities you may not be aware of.

For example, what support might your family be receiving from you? Do you babysit for your sister? If so, your sister may be entitled to support to compensate for the loss of babysitting.

I don't know how probate works in Alberta, but the area of law can be far more complicated and complex than people realize.

Even appointing an executor and waiving their need to put down a bond in order to execute the terms of the will (assuming this can be done in Alberta).

It's little things like that, which a lawyer can cover.

You're not paying a lawyer to draft a piece of paper with your intentions. You're paying a lawyer to draft your intentions in a way that will be executed efficiently and without any problems.

You're paying a lawyer to ensure your family doesn't have added stress and litigation after your death.

[MoneyGuy]

I don't understand the point of spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer for a will that expires anyway.

Wills don't expire.

I also disagree with your rant. CPP is supposed to provide a retirement income. It's not an asset to be left to a child, sibling, or whomever.

Do-it-yourself wills are dangerous. Pay a lawyer and do it right. Include a PoA and personal directive.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Holographic wills are legal in Alberta. I don't understand the point of spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer for a will that expires anyway. Maybe if you have a big business with major assets.

I suggest at least having a holographic will that's signed by you and your spouse and a friend to witness and sign. If you want to go all out, then pay the $60 for a notary to witness and sign it.

Rant
One last thing, include in your will who you would like the government to transfer all your cpp contributions to. It won't do anything, but the government might get a good laugh out of it.
/rant

Wills don't cost you thousands of dollars unless you make them long and convoluted and cumbersome.

Your will should only be complicated enough to give sufficient direction to the executor and simple enough so that the will can be executed quickly and efficiently.

And choose your executor wisely. Don't give some friend or family member that responsibility if you know they will be in over their head.

And once you have a will, make sure the executor and those named in the will know where a copy of the will is kept. Myself, I have copies with the proper people and the official copy with my lawyer.

[FurnaceFace]

I also question the "thousands of dollars" claim. I don't recall what ours cost but I don't recall it being really high. You could always ask a lawyer what a ballpark would be.

Like the OP we are a couple with no kids or dependants. The will helps protect the survivor from possible disputes over property or other investments. If you have parents or sibling they could fight your spouse on something and importantly the living will or directive will ensure your wishing are more likely to be followed.

Edit: What Redforever said.

[GP_Matt]

The living will is pretty tough as you then have to decide what you want and I don't really know.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I also disagree with your rant. CPP is supposed to provide a retirement income. It's not an asset to be left to a child, sibling, or whomever.

And when a spouse passes away, how much of it does the other spouse get as a retirement income. Not very much at all.

How much has the government made in unclaimed funds? They're basically getting an interest free loan.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Holographic wills are legal in Alberta. I don't understand the point of spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer for a will that expires anyway. Maybe if you have a big business with major assets.

I suggest at least having a holographic will that's signed by you and your spouse and a friend to witness and sign. If you want to go all out, then pay the $60 for a notary to witness and sign it.

Rant
One last thing, include in your will who you would like the government to transfer all your cpp contributions to. It won't do anything, but the government might get a good laugh out of it.
/rant

It usually doesn't take as long as it did for terrible advice to appear, so I think CP deserves a hearty congrats on this one....

For the record:

1) Holographic wills are fine, but you need to make sure you have throught through the entire process including every possible 'what if' scenario. I have yet to have a couple come to me with a plan that we don't change once I explain to them what could happen under different scenarios.

2) wills aren't "thousands of dollars". We do couples wills (so, 2 of them) along with POA and Personal Directives for $850.

3) wills don't expire at a certain time. In the past, your will was voided upon marriage, but under the new Wills Act this is no longer the case.

[calgarywinning]

I think you should be written into his will for excellent advice.

[JonDuke]

Very happy for this thread as the wife and I both need to get ours done and have been procrastinating way too much.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

2) wills aren't "thousands of dollars". We do couples wills (so, 2 of them) along with POA and Personal Directives for $850.

Maybe thousands of dollars is a bit overkill. Any updates you need to make in the future are those usually free? I'm guessing a person's financial situation may change from time to time. New job, moves, win the lottery etc.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

And when a spouse passes away, how much of it does the other spouse get as a retirement income. Not very much at all.

How much has the government made in unclaimed funds? They're basically getting an interest free loan.

If it was the way you suggest then you'd have to either increase contribution levels or get less in retirement income to keep the CPP sustainable. Be careful what you ask for. Sorry, your post had errors and bad advice.