We think it’s fair to say that most people are aware that they should have a Will. And yet, time and time again, studies show that over half of all Canadians don’t have a valid Will. Many reasons have been suggested for this discrepancy. They range from cost to unease talking about death to a lack of time. There does not, however, appear to be one particular reason stopping us from having a Will.
Whatever your reason(s) might be, here are three things we would like you to consider if you have been delaying getting (or revising) a Will:
There is never a perfect time.
If you don’t have a Will or you have one but it needs revising, the time to get a Will is now. This is true no matter what else happens to be going on in life. Life is constantly changing and so too will your estate planning. A Will is not something that you do once and forget all about it. It is a living document that will change over time. Estate planning is an ongoing process that will evolve as your life changes. So, I guess we could really say that there is actually always a perfect time and that time is now.
It’s not really all about you.
This may sound strange as the estate planning process obviously revolves around you and particularly your death and how you would like your assets to be distributed when that eventual day comes. However, estate planning is actually a gift to the loved ones you leave behind. Proper estate planning ensures that your loved ones are taken care of in the best way possible. It also makes sure that matters can be efficiently dealt with to lessen the stress on grieving family members.
It’s not a scary process.
Or, at least it shouldn’t be. Naturally, thinking and talking about our own mortality can be very difficult. However, the right team of professionals — a lawyer, a financial planner, and an accountant — will make the estate planning process as smooth and seamless as possible. An experienced estate planning professional will have developed a process to make the estate planning experience both positive and stress-free for their clients. And the peace of mind that you will after having done your estate planning is, at the risk of sounding cliche, priceless.
Remember that November is ‘Make a Will’ month. Now is the perfect time to make that Will you may have been putting off for some time.
