Do-it-yourself wills may seem like an easy, cheaper option than going to the experts – but is it really worth the risk?
Stacy Maurier, lawyer at Estate Connection in St. Albert, said the biggest issue the law firm sees is when people decide to write their own wills.
“Nine times out of 10, those wills will cause problems at the end of the day,” Maurier said. “Everyone goes online and they think, 'Well, it can’t be that hard, I’ll just write my own.' It’s kind of like getting your news on Facebook.”
People who go down this road often get into trouble because they don’t have a complete understanding of their own estate, assets or Alberta law. When a problem does arise, it can easily spiral into myriad complications, she said.
As an example, Maurier said she had one client who wrote his own will and detailed how he wanted to allocate almost every possession he owned over several pages – except for his house.
“We definitely knew who’s getting the pots and the pans, but at the end of the day, no one was getting his most expensive asset,” she said.
Another gentleman wrote his own will and wanted the coin collection kept in his safety deposit box to be equally divided between his grandchildren. But when his executor went and had the collection appraised, they discovered the coins were actually Klondike Coins from the Edmonton Expo, and only worth a few dollars each.
“We had $21 being divided between 11 kids, and we have to hold it until they’re 25 years old. I don’t think he thought about the implications of what he was doing,” she said.
So, why would people want to write their own will?
Maurier said people are sometimes worried about embarrassing themselves when talking to a lawyer about their estate, either because they don’t have the assets or money they think they should have, or they have a complicated family dynamic to explain.
“People write wills with very little money, or millions of dollars. And quite frequently, families aren’t what we would consider normal – they’re estranged from each other, they may have second marriages ... Lawyers have seen it all.”
Going through a lawyer to write a will can be expensive too, but Maurier said making the investment to make sure it's done right can save unexpected costs and unnecessary conflict in the future.
Talk about the uncomfortable
No one wants to dwell on their own mortality, but it’s important to realize death can happen at any moment, regardless of age.
If you want control over how your property, pets or other assets are distributed, make sure you have a will in place before you really need it, Maurier said. Typically, a will can be done over two to three hours over a few appointments.
“For me to get a call and have to go to the hospital, sit there and write a will ... if you’ve got limited time on Earth, you really don’t want to spend it with me.”
According to an Angus Reid Institute 2018 poll, 51 per cent of Canadians say they had no last will and testament in place, and only one third said they have one that’s up to date.
A significant number, 25 per cent, say the reason is because they’re “too young” to worry about it, with almost as many people saying they don’t have enough assets to make a will worthwhile.
“From the moment you have some assets, you should have some sort of will. And it’s quite easy at the early stage to do,” Maurier said. “Then after a real life event, so if you get a job with a pension, you should look at redoing it.”
Always have a will in place that reflects your current situation by updating it every five years, she said. If any life changes happen, like a new home purchase or family estrangement, the will would still be up-to-date.
