Having a will is crucial because it empowers you to decide who receives what after your passing. Without a will, you forfeit the ability to determine the distribution of your accumulated property among your loved ones. Astonishingly, many Canadian adults lack a will, either due to ignorance or uncertainty about the process. Some assume that creating a will is prohibitively expensive. What many fail to realize is that not having a will can lead to more significant problems than anticipated. The oversight of not having one can result in substantial legal bills arising from family disputes. Let’s look at these 5 important reasons why you shouldn’t postpone creating your will:
1. Left with no executor
If you don’t have a will then you are left without an executor. What it implies is that then an appointment must be made of someone who will act as an administrator of your estate. This leads to potential delay, expense, frustration, and even loss.
2. No guardian is appointed
One of the major downfalls of not having a will is that you don’t get the opportunity to select guardians for any minor children that you may have. In such a scenario, the Public Guardian, who is a government representative, has to get involved in the personal lives of your children. As a parent, therefore, making a will is a moral responsibility that you should fulfill. It is very important that you make sure that your children are in the hands of someone you trust.
3. No burial preferences
When you don’t have a will then you don’t get to say what kind of burial you want once you pass away. It also becomes difficult for family as they don’t understand what burial preferences their loved one would have wanted. Hence, the will is the perfect solution for such circumstances.
4. No control over your estate and finances
Failing to create a will might lead to your children, spouse and/ or other family members not receiving the amount that you would have wanted them to receive.
5. Involvement of a Public Representative
If your child is a minor, then a trustee gets involved in the administration of the children’s share. This implies that the government will decide the financial future of your child. At the end of it, the government will also charge a certain portion of the estate as a fee. Also, certain assets that you might have wanted to be kept for the security of your family’s security might have to be sold. It’s essential that you make sure that your estate is properly funded. Having life insurance is a great method using which you can inject liquid funds into your estate.
The above mentioned reasons are just some of the potential things that might come into play if you don’t leave a will behind. Having a will is a moral responsibility that will end up saving your family a lot of trouble and will also secure their future. If you would like to get a will made or if you want to discuss the laws concerning wills in Canada, then get in touch with Prowse Chowne.