60% of Canadians Don’t Have Wills
Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
The chance of catching a fire in your house is only one-in-230; but people are lining up to get property insurance, just to be sure. Meanwhile, the odds of death are one-in-one; despite this, over 60% of Canadians do not have a will or even a comprehensive estate plan. This is according to Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners.
Maybe it’s an issue of facing mortality or not wanting to place a burden to the family. Most of the time, people don’t see any immediate benefit of planning for the estate, or sometimes, they just don’t know where to start.
Everyone should make a will, regardless of your wealth. An estate is everything you own - this includes property, investments, and real estate. At the same time, it also includes all the debts you owe.
The objective of most people is to make sure that their family is financially secure when they die (though in some cases, beneficiaries may also include charities or non-family members). So an effective “will” does not only make sure that it states clearly who should get what, but rather, distributes the assets tax-effectively and efficiently. It’s also critical that your assets are managed before you are incapacitated or ill.
The first step would be to pull together a team of experts to guide you. It’s recommended that you include a financial adviser, tax professional, and a lawyer, who can be your overall coordinator.
Tags: debts, estate, estate plan, experts, financial adviser, investment, lawyer, property, real estate, tax professional, wealth, will