Wills

I can't remember the exact percentage but about half of adult Canadians don't have a will.  Several years ago, my brother revealed that he and his wife didn't have a will.  At the time they had a daughter under ten.  I was shocked that they didn't.  I encouraged him to go and do it; he didn't.  I pointed out to him that if he and his wife died together, that their daughter would, first of all, become a ward of the province and secondly that she would inherit their estate at age 18.  Imagine someone at that age coming into considerable wealth at such a young age.  He didn't seem to be at all aware of the implications of dying without a will.

In the end, I decided to give him a gift certificate for $100 towards getting a will.  In Canada, a simple will costs about $250-$350.  It is such a small investment in such an important document.  He and his wife eventually did get to a lawyer and now they have both wills and Powers of Attorney in place.  It is true that in deciding to put a will in place does require one to think about death and dying.  As noted in one of my other posts, this is an issue that many people have great difficulty confronting.  Perhaps this explains why so many people avoid having a will.  My view is that, if your loved ones are at all important to you, then putting a will in place is a no brainer.  For a relatively small investment, there are siginificant dividends for your loved ones after your death.  And I don't mean in terms of wealth, but rather in minimizing the stress that comes with having to settle your estate at a time when grief is the greatest.