Do you have a Will? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Sylvanfan · 07-28-2006, 07:33 PM

Well with the recent passing of my father I've had the joy of trying to help my mom deal with his estate and the like. Fortunately my dad did have a will, so things have been able to get done. Anyone who's in financial planning, will likely tell you a Will is one of the most important things. They're right, without one you can really leave people scrambling should something happen. My dad was 67, but his death was out of the blue and completely unexpected. Although he had a will, he had a lot of other things that could have been done differently that really could have made life easier for my Mom. He never stated any final wishes as to what he wanted done with his body. As a result we were left guessing, and things are hard enough after something like that so stating in a will what you want done will take the stress and doubt away from your family. He hadn't planned on dying just yet, and none of us do, but it happens and chances are we'll leave someone behind and a good will can make it easier on your loved ones.

I'll admit I don't currently have a Will, but am in the process of getting one done. I've known about this for like 8 years now, but kept putting it off thinking I have nothing. Well now with a wife, house, vehichles etc... I do have stuff to pass on and have come to realize that I need to get my house in order. Not only do you need the will but consider what you have, who you'd leave behind, and what you'd want to leave to them. For example, my wife and I do have a life insurance policy on our Mortage right now as we didn't have sufficient life insurance at the time we bought the house. Our mortgage isn't a year old yet, so right now we're getting good value on the insurance but the important thing is that our house would be paid off if one of us was to go. The other thing is that any debt I do have, usually goes on a line of credit I have that has life insurance on it. If I use my credit card for anything, and don't have the money to cover it in my regular account I instantly put it on my line of credit. Always did this due to the interest rates, but now I realize that the LOC is insured and the CC isn't. I also have nominal life insurance coverage through work that would cover final expenses type of thing too. But I realize now that she doesn't neccessarily know all this, and have since talked with her and shown her where everything she would need is as she wouldn't have known before, and likely wouldn't have known about everything we do have.

So thats my friendly advice for the day.

metallicat · 07-28-2006, 07:57 PM

This is an excellent thread. I do not have a will, but obviously should.

Thanks for the advice, I hope people listen. I have.

Bobblehead · 07-28-2006, 09:22 PM

Can anyone recommend a good lawyer for getting something like a will drawn up? I'm not sure I trust those kits - they may be legal, but from working in the tax field, very few people are truly 'typical'.

And how much does it cost to have something like a will done by a lawyer?

I know Troutman is a lawyer, but is estate law his 'bailiwick'?

HOOT · 07-28-2006, 09:58 PM

I hope they can spread my ashes within the ice of the Dome for a season

I have actually been looking at getting this stuff done....but just been waiting until I purchase a house as for right now I have a car and $20,000 in savings so its not a lot and I actually have my car in my dads name for cheap insurance and my bank has my mom to get the money.

It is pretty cheap considering it will save your wife and/or family soooooooooooooooooooooo much time when you pass away...hopefully not for a while....

If you own a house or a lot of debt from school or whatever life insurance is a good investment....I have actually been told it helps you get approved for a mortgage if the bank knows you are covered...true or not, im not 100% sure.

Thanks for the advice....and sorry to hear about your loss!

Frank the Tank · 07-28-2006, 10:12 PM

Wow. Great advice. Thanks for posting.

And, very very sorry about your father, must be tough.

Ironhorse · 07-29-2006, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Can anyone recommend a good lawyer for getting something like a will drawn up? I'm not sure I trust those kits - they may be legal, but from working in the tax field, very few people are truly 'typical'.

And how much does it cost to have something like a will done by a lawyer?

I know Troutman is a lawyer, but is estate law his 'bailiwick'?

My wife and I will be visiting Troutman's firm in the near future to get our wills done up.

redforever · 07-29-2006, 12:41 AM

It also helps if everything is in joint ownership. That way if one dies and your will stipulates that the surviving mate inherits the property in the will, things transfer almost automatically.

This is what happened when my father in law died. He had taken care of almost everything, except one piece of property, the home quarter of land was in his name only.

As a result, the whole will had to be PROBATED, to prove ownership, no liens against the property, all that kind of stuff. Now, it is not just the quarter of land that gets probabed in this instance, it is the entire value of the will. It goes on a percentage, not sure what it was, something like maybe .07% of the value of the will. It was not a significant amount, around $3000 or something, but none the less, this was money that was lost from the will that went to lawyers etc.

Certain items I believe are exempt from Probation, I think the house of residence, a certain amount of cash, not sure what amount, but in any case, a good lawyer will tell you all of this stuff.

V · 07-29-2006, 12:54 AM

Since we're sort of on the topic, how bad is inheritance tax? How much can I expect to pay in taxes if I receive something like $500k from my parents when they go (here's hoping that's a very long time away yet).

Good advice Syl. My wife and I have a Will drafted up, and it's amazing how thorough the lawyer can be. Things that you never would have thought of will come up. Get it done by a real lawyer. These kits are bogus.

pepper24 · 07-29-2006, 11:53 AM

Sylvan, sorry to hear about your father.

I am still single without kids so my house and few assets will to to my father if things happen to me. If or once I get married and have kids, a will will be high priority.

troutman · 07-29-2006, 12:26 PM

There is no real inheritance tax in Alberta. The maximum probate fee with the court is $400 IIRC. It is a different story in other provinces, where the tax can be a significant percentage of the net estate (Ont, BC). Some assets may attract capital gains tax, but that is paid by the estate. An accountant should be consulted on those issues. You should also consult with a financial planner.

I recommend everyone (young or old) have a will, power of attorney and personal directive. A couple could expect to pay $500 to $1000 for the entire package depending on which firm they use, and the complexity of their estate. Send me a private message if you would like some more information or a free consultation. My practice is concentrated on real estate and wills and estate planning. Be careful using will kits.

Lawyers make more $ quite frankly from cases where people did not make these documents. Protect your family.

flamesfever · 07-29-2006, 12:30 PM

Sylvanfan, sorry about your loss and thanks for the info.

I believe most law firms have an up-to-date standard will, sufficient for the average person, for a reasonable fee. Naturally, more valuable and complex estates will require more costlier and added input from estate planners, lawyers and accountants, etc.

Also, you may want to consider adding an "Enduring Power of Attorney" and a "Personal Directive" in case you and/or your wife become incapacitated, through an accident, etc., and are unable to manage your personal affairs.

Sylvanfan · 07-29-2006, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

Lawyers make more $ quite frankly from cases where people did not make these documents. Protect your family.

From what I understand this applies to many things. The company I used to work for featured a three way partnership that went bad and they didn't seek out proper legal advice when they formed the company. They ended up spending a lot of money time and effort sorting out that mess. Legal advice is not cheap, but it's much cheaper to get it done before hand as a preventative measure than to do so afterwards as a reactive measure. Bottom line is that good legal advice is pricey because it's worth it.

V · 07-31-2006, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

There is no real inheritance tax in Alberta. The maximum probate fee with the court is $400 IIRC. It is a different story in other provinces, where the tax can be a significant percentage of the net estate (Ont, BC). Some assets may attract capital gains tax, but that is paid by the estate. An accountant should be consulted on those issues. You should also consult with a financial planner.

Interesting. I wonder what will happen when my wife's folks pass away and leave a portion of their massive estate to us. They live in BC. I live in Alberta.

MoneyGuy · 07-31-2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

Interesting. I wonder what will happen when my wife's folks pass away and leave a portion of their massive estate to us. They live in BC. I live in Alberta.

First off, it will be subject to (likely) greater probate costs. In Alberta the max is $400 no matter the size of the estate. In B.C. it's free for the first 25K, then $6 for every iK up to 50K, then $14 for every thou above 50K. It can get quite expensive if it's a large estate, and can get into the hundreds of thousands of dollars on an estate of a million or two. And it grows with the estate size. Suggest they move to Alberta. (It's a lot of money for nothing, if you know what's involved.)

Seriously, there may be things they can do. They should review their assets, consider what's taxable and what is not and what strategies can be used to reduce probate costs. In Alberta, don't even bother, with our cheap probate.

MoneyGuy, Certified Financial Planner

MoneyGuy · 07-31-2006, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

From what I understand this applies to many things. The company I used to work for featured a three way partnership that went bad and they didn't seek out proper legal advice when they formed the company. They ended up spending a lot of money time and effort sorting out that mess. Legal advice is not cheap, but it's much cheaper to get it done before hand as a preventative measure than to do so afterwards as a reactive measure. Bottom line is that good legal advice is pricey because it's worth it.

Sometimes I think that lawyers overcharge for wills to encourage bad estate planning so they can get more work later. A will, POA and PD (all necessary) can be bought for <$500 but they require about five minutes of a lawyer's time and 10-15 minutes for the assistant, assuming it's a simple estate, which most are. If you guys don't have wills, POA and PD, get it done. ONe of my clients found out the hard way why this is important.

fredr123 · 07-31-2006, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Sometimes I think that lawyers overcharge for wills to encourage bad estate planning so they can get more work later. A will, POA and PD (all necessary) can be bought for <$500 but they require about five minutes of a lawyer's time and 10-15 minutes for the assistant, assuming it's a simple estate, which most are. If you guys don't have wills, POA and PD, get it done. ONe of my clients found out the hard way why this is important.

It may take little time but it does take considerable skill and experience to draft a proper will that ensures contingencies are taken care of. If you don't like the fees, you can take a chance on doing it yourself (which is really risky because most people lack the skill + experience) or you can finish high school, get an undergraduate degree, complete three years of law school, article for a year, pass the bar admission requirements and do it yourself. $500 + peace of mind vs. all that time and money? I think the answer is obvious.

MoneyGuy · 07-31-2006, 03:01 PM

All true, but don't forget one thing. Lawyers have basic will templates and it takes virtually no time to do them. Like I said, five minutes for the lawyer and 10-15 for the assistant and it's all done. That's about it. A friend of mine is with one of the larger law firms in Alberta and I asked him what he charges. Because it's a big downtown firm, I thought he'd say $500-$800, but he said it's just around $300 if there are no surprises and pretty basic. I agree that $500 is worth it for the peace of mind, but if you know what goes into it, that's still too much.

V · 07-31-2006, 03:09 PM

500 bucks doesn't get you a whole lot in the professional world. Shucks, I've pretty much burned through 500 bucks checking my email and voicemail when I come in each morning.

fredr123 · 07-31-2006, 03:37 PM

Mechanics have repair manuals that tell them how to fix your car. Thanks to the manuals, those guys are really only turning a few wrenches. They should charge far less per hour than they do.

Teachers are notorious for having those answer keys and sample quizzes. Really, for how much they rely on those kinds of materials, they should be paid far less than they do.

I could go on. Lawyer's fees do seem really high but to expect them to be any lower ignores the amount of training, expertise and experience a lawyer brings to whatever matter they attend to.

RedMan12 · 07-31-2006, 04:26 PM

My father passed away in January at the age of 50. No will or nothing. Dealing with his stuff was freakin tough. It created a family war. Me and my 19 year old sister had to pretty much deal with everything ourself. Funeral planning and everything esle that goes with it. A will would of definetely helped.