Your Will and You
No matter how modest your assets, a Will helps you carry out the intentions and promises you made in life.
Advantages of a Will
- It provides financial security for your family and others.
- It divides your estate according to your wishes.
- It can make a statement about your values in life.
- It allows you to give meaningfully to organizations you value, such as Wycliffe College.
- It can minimize taxes owing upon death.
Without a Will
If you die without a Will, i.e. intestate, your province will step in to choose your Estate Trustee and decide the distribution of your estate. If that happens –
- Your assets can be significantly reduced or depleted by taxes and unnecessary administration fees.
- If you have minor children, you will not have the opportunity to choose their guardian.
- The settlement process is more likely to be drawn out and bring financial cost to your family.
- Your business may be ruined by lack of any formal instructions on your part.
- There will be no donations to your favourite charities.
Where do I start?
- List all your property, including real estate, personal effects, and other property such as cash, bank accounts and securities. Not all of your property can be controlled under your Will. Legislation or contracts with individual insurance and benefit providers will determine what happens to life insurance policies, jointly held property, and survivor benefits of pension and other retirement plans.
- Choose your beneficiaries. List those you wish to remember in your Will. You will want to provide for your dependents first, but then you have a chance to be creative. You can give a work of art to a favourite aunt, honour a dear friend or arrange a memorial fund with the charity of your choice.
- Select an Estate Trustee and an alternate. Your Will names an Estate Trustee or Estate Trustees. It is the legal duty of the Estate Trustee to carry out the terms of the Will. You may name a spouse, relative, a friend or a trust company or a combination. Be sure to choose carefully, as the role may be quite complex. Your Estate Trustee has broad powers to act, especially if you hold assets which need special handling, such as a small business or certain property. Choose a willing person who is younger than you and who is up to this onerous task, and be aware that they are entitled to reasonable compensation.
Drafting and executing your Will
If your estate is modest, your Will should be simple and may involve only a modest expense to draft. If you choose to have your lawyer or notary prepare your Will, they will draft it in precise language that leaves no doubt about your intentions.
Most trust companies in Canada can prepare your Will as well. If you choose a trust company for this task, you should ask about the charges for preparing the Will and the administration of estate assets.
You may even draft your own Will. A Will prepared in your own handwriting is called a holograph Will. However, not all provinces recognize them as valid. Even where they are recognized, questions may arise as to your real intent and your estate could be tied up in court for many months.
Actual signing and witnessing is critical to the validity of the Will. Requirements differ from province to province. Do not do this on your own. Consult your lawyer.
Once your Will has been drafted, you and your two witnesses will sign the document in each other’s presence. Your beneficiaries and their spouses should not be witnesses. As one or both may be called upon to give evidence about the execution of your Will, they should be residents of Canada and preferably younger than you. As well, a document required for the probate of the Will (called an affidavit of execution) should be signed and sworn by one of the witnesses shortly after the Will is signed.
Do not hide your Will! Tell your Estate Trustee and family where the original Will is kept. Keep a copy of your Will with your other important papers and file the original with your lawyer or trust company.
Review your Will regularly
Once you have drafted your Will, don’t let it get outdated. A Will drafted a few years ago reflects your thinking and lifestyle of that time. Anything may change – tax laws, family circumstances, your investments and your wishes too.
Major changes may require you to prepare a new Will. Minor changes, however, can be made quite simply by adding a properly drafted and executed codicil that retains all the provisions of your existing Will except those modified by this addition.
Wycliffe is pleased to offer you, a free Will Planner to assist you in your private deliberations regarding the future stewardship of God’s material provisions in your life.
To receive a copy of Wycliffe College’s Will Planner, please contact:
Marion Disselkoen, Development Officer
Telephone: 416-946-3531
Email: mdisselkoen@wycliffe.utoronto.ca
5 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1H7
