Pauntehah Poursaba
With online will kits on the rise in popularity, you may be asking yourself, “Why would I need a lawyer?” And the answer may be, that – well – you don’t, but here’s the thing – you very well might! It ultimately depends on a number of personal factors, such as whether you have a blended family, the size of your estate, whether you have any shares in a business, or whether you have any property outside of the province. While online will kits can be very handy for some, when it comes to estate planning, there should never be a one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s where a lawyer’s knowledge and expertise comes in.
Online Will Kits – What Are They and Are They Legal?
Online will kits, often referred to as “DIY wills”, are documents that individuals can create in a variety of ways. Some kits nowadays are more nuanced and will require users to answer a series of questions and will then apply pre-drafted templates, guidelines, and instructions into the process in order to help users outline their final wishes regarding the distribution of their assets, appointment of their executors, guardians, and other big decisions.
Yes, online will kits are legal in Canada, however one thing to be aware of is the differences in laws across the country. The legality of a will is contingent on its adherence to the applicable laws and regulations governing the province in which an individual resides. Therefore, you have to be extremely careful when using online kits to be sure that it is compliant with the province in which you are living.
Is a Will Kit a Good Option for Me?
A will kit may be a good option for you in specific circumstances. Will kits may be helpful for individuals who have uncomplicated financial situations, and very straight forward wishes regarding the distribution of their assets. In essence, if you have a very basic estate then a will kit may be a budget-friendly and efficient option, provided that it fits all the required legal formalities, but that is not to say that there are not downfalls with this option.
A Lawyer’s Touch
While online will kits may be inexpensive, and have come a far way from the one-size fits all documents that used to be available, the one thing they still cannot provide you with is legal advice. When a lawyer looks at your estate planning, they look at it as a whole – from now until the time it comes into play. In doing so, we make sure that the entirety of your estate works together seamlessly both now and in the future to maximize the size of your estate and minimize the stress your executors and loved ones will face down the road. Read on to learn more about what a lawyer really looks at when preparing your will.
Minimizing Fees + Maximizing the Estate
Understanding how your will comes into effect at the time of probate is a skill that online will kits cannot provide. Part of a lawyer’s role when you start your estate planning journey is to think about what the probate process will look like for your estate. For those of you that don’t know what probate is, upon the death of an individual, the executor of the deceased’s estate will often need to apply to the court for an estate grant, which serves as recognition by the courts that, among other things, the will is the operative testamentary document on which the executor can rely. Along with that application comes, you guessed it, probate fees! Probate fees are, quite simply put, fees paid to the government in proportion to the size of the estate being probated.
Proper estate planning includes thinking about probate fees and coming up with plans for how they can be minimized, or eliminated, by reducing the size of a client’s estate that needs to go through probate. This can be done through a variety of methods, such as setting up beneficiaries for RRSPs, life insurance policies, pension plans, or by transferring property into joint tenancies or trusts. In the case of business owners, sometimes a lawyer may suggest a secondary will be created to deal only with those shares. There are other methods that can also be used, but it’s imperative to ensure that it’s the right option for each individual before implementing any of them as there may be disadvantages that come along with the advantages in some cases. Therefore, estate planning strategies must be implemented with careful thought given to the legal and tax consequences.
Upholding Your Will
A well drafted will serves as a legally binding document that explicitly outlines how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. Ideally, it takes care of how you want to pass on your financial holdings, real estate, and items of value or importance. But one of the important roles a will plays is actually acting as a tool for minimizing potential conflicts between family members. It does so by clearly articulating your wishes on how your assets should be distributed after your passing. Unfortunately, no matter how explicit a will is – oftentimes, wills can (and do) get challenged. Working with a lawyer when drafting your will means a reduced risk of challenges in itself. Professionally drafted wills reduce the risk of disputes among your beneficiaries because a lawyer recognizes and tells you when something you are adding into your will is going to result in a challenge or is likely to lead to a variation claim.
Further, it’s important to understand that a lawyer’s role in estate planning isn’t only to draft your estate planning documents, but also to upkeep the validity and legality of your will. To start with, a lawyer is important in this regard because they stay in-the-know with changing legislation and legal requirements such as the proper witnessing and execution of wills. However, a lawyer also ensures the validity of your will in lesser known ways, such as by having a preliminary meeting with you, gathering information from you, asking you follow-up questions, taking clear notes, and making sure you understand everything in your estate plan and the outcomes of your choices. Finally they’ll meet with you to sign the documents. A lawyer’s role when assisting you with your estate planning is not only to draft your documents, but also to consider and assess your mental capacity and check for any indications that you are being influenced by any other person. A lawyer’s notes and interactions with you provide valuable independent evidence regarding your mental state at the time you made and signed your will, which is incredibly important if your will is ever challenged.
Intricacies of estate planning
A properly drafted will addresses a variety of matters, more so than just asset planning. A lawyer has the ability to give you guidance on what tasks are requires by your executors, what to consider when you’re deciding on who to appoint as your executor, and whether that same person is suitable to be the guardian of your minor child or children or whether you should pick someone else entirely for that role.
When working with lawyers, you have the opportunity to have your will drafted in a way that is tailored to address your specific needs and circumstances. A properly drafted will considers potential changes that may be unforeseen, such as changes in relationships, the disposal of an article that was meant to be gifted, or specific scenarios that are unique to you. While online will kits have certainly come a far way, this level of intricacy is one that only comes with the knowledge a lawyer has for estate planning and the ability to customize documents to meet your individual situations and intentions. It is unlikely that these contingencies, since unknown, could be covered by an online toolkit.
Conclusion:
Online will kits may be a budget-friendly option for those who want to be able to craft their own will and have simple, straight forward estates, they are still not a one-size-fits all solution. Estate laws can be tricky and confusing to navigate, and consulting a qualified wills and estates lawyer will ensure that your final wishes are honoured and most-importantly, effective – in the long run!
While online will kits may work for individuals with straight forward or simple estates, those with more complex estates, specific wishes, or concerns about potential challenges to their wills may find that a lawyer’s touch is invaluable. Working with a wills and estates lawyer provides you with peace of mind knowing that your will has been drafted in a way that meets your specific needs and circumstances, is legally valid, and has been prepared just so to help you avoid any potential problems with your beneficiaries down the road.
If you’re thinking about estate planning, or need to update your current estate documents, contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
