There’s often a lot of anxiety surrounding wills. How do I start writing a will? What are the questions to consider when writing a will? How much does writing a will cost?
People fear the process because they think there are lots of decisions to make, or it’s really expensive, and if they start thinking about it, the inevitable will happen. This often leads to people generally avoiding thinking about wills, which is why (statiscally) only one in four people actually have them.
So let’s clear some things up. Wills are the only legal document in British Columbia where you can name a guardian for your children, as well as let the government know what happens to your stuff after you’re gone.
If we really had to boil it down, there’s really only 3 decisions you have to make:
- Who will be your executor? This is the one who will be making decisions about money on your behalf.
- If you have children, who will be their guardian? This will be the one who looks after them.
- Who or what organization gets all your stuff? This will be the one who inherits your stuff.
If you get all this in order, this prevents the government, lawyers and the default laws from getting involved in answering those questions. If you don’t decide what happens, they will (and it will cost a lot more too). It doesn’t have to be hard or scary, and if you’re still feeling uneasy, check out our guide on how to prepare a family will.
Getting a will is an insurance policy for your car – you hope you don’t have a car accident and need it, but if you do get into an accident (and they are all unexpected), it will save you a lot of money and headache. The difference is that it will also save the ones you love the most money and headache. You’ll probably sleep much better at night knowing that too.
Lawyer-Founder,
Paperclip Law
