It has been 34 years since my last Will update……

The pandemic has compelled Canadians to stop and consider the state of their “Estate’s Design.”  For some, this reflection has brought up the idea of having a Last Will & Testament prepared for the very first time.  For others, it has caused a pondering over the age of their current Will and what should be done to update it….if anything.

What I find interesting is that according to a poll conducted by Angus Reid Institute in 2018, they found that only 49% of Canadians have a Will. Of those Canadians who have a will, only 35% admitted that it is up to date! “In other words, half of Canadians are set to have no say in what happens to their assets should they die, and nearly one-in-six have wills, but haven’t kept them up to date.”-Source Angus Reid Institute.

Naturally, my curiosity has been unleashed.  What would cause someone to create a Will and then never look back again? Is it fear? Is it cost? Is it passivity? Recently in a discussion, someone said they felt as though they were in a confessional…….” Dear father…..it’s been 25 years since my last Will update”. 

Light Bulb Moment! 

Perhaps I could dive more in-depth with my clients as to why there are so many Wills without updates for 20+ years, and then as luck would have it, I found someone willing to “confess” …….maybe I could find some of the answers that I am looking for.  Disclaimer-Names and details have been changed to protect the person’s identity.

Samantha and Albert are happily married and had three children and now have six grandchildren.  Their Last Will & Testament was created in 1986 (34 years ago) when their children were still minors.  In the document, Samantha and Albert named Albert’s sister as the Executor (for both), who is seven years older than the couple (currently, she is 86).  The instructions were relatively simple, upon the death of the first spouse-everything goes to the remaining spouse, and if the spouse has predeceased the other-then everything would go to their three children equally. 

Interestingly, the 1986 Wills state that if one of their children were to predecease Samantha and Albert, then that child’s share would be divided between the two remaining siblings.  Unfortunately, in 2018, Samantha and Albert’s worst nightmare came true, and their youngest son passed away.  Yet, this change in their family dynamic did not cause them to revise their Wills, even though their son had two children.

Based on the above, I met with Samantha and Albert. They were looking for a Professional Executor as their primary concern was that Albert’s sister was expressing her desire not to be their Executor.

Question: What are your thoughts about the fact that your Executor is the age of 86 at this point and time?

Albert:  Funny enough, I don’t think she is the right person now or even at that point when we created our Wills.  Now we worry that because of her age, we may outlive her. We understand that age does not dictate when someone passes away, but there are other reasons why it is not a good fit.

Samantha: We worry about the work involved; she wouldn’t know what to do for the estate and would need professional help with many aspects such as taxes, dealing with banks, and even moving our personal stuff.  It would be difficult emotionally, and she would not be able to go through the items due to her age and new physical limitations. 

Question: In your Will, your children receive equally, and if a child predeceases you, then their share goes to the remaining children.  In your case, your son has passed away, which means his share will be divided between his brother and sister.  How do you feel that his children will not receive his share of the estate?

Samantha: This does not make us feel great at all.  We feel as though we should have considered something like this at the time, but the children were young, we never imagined that this could possibly happen. 

Albert: It certainly bothers me as well; we want our son’s children to inherit in his place.  At that time, we thought that we would update our Wills again once the children became adults, but we never got around to it.  We thought “at least” we have a Will.

Question: Knowing that you are not happy with the choice of Executor along with unhappiness regarding how your estate would be distributed to the beneficiaries.  What has stopped you from updating your Will?

Albert: Procrastination, simply not getting around to it.  We have been so busy with life, retirement, the grandkids. It seems as though every year we bring up the topic, and every year we say “next” year.  Even though we have suffered a loss, we still have a challenging time talking about death.

Samantha: Nothing really, honestly the time management side of it. The idea of getting on the phone, going to see a lawyer, meeting with the lawyer, it is all so overwhelming.  Cost is not the issue for the Will; it is the inconvenience, the stuffiness, the sitting with a stranger and talking about such personal things with someone who happens to be also doing our real estate deal.

Question: Would you be open to working with an online platform to create new Wills from the comfort of your home?  

Samantha: Knowing there is an online option makes it so much easier for me.  I can’t get out and set up appointments; I would like to sit down, take my time, and do this from the comfort of my home. 

Albert: This is intriguing to me, especially with COVID-19; the idea of going out to offices and meeting with strangers is offputting.  We know that we want to update our documents but kept finding an excuse.  It looks like perhaps we are out of reasons not to do this.

While Samantha and Albert’s family situation is unique to them, much like a fingerprint, their reasons for not updating their Wills can easily resonate with all of us.  For Samantha and Albert, they discovered their most significant pain point: they did not want to go out and meet with someone for a pretty simple new Will. The fear of COVID-19 and wishing to stay in their homes served as a most recent deterrent for doing something that was weighing so heavily on their minds.  In the end, they did create wills using an online platform, and they told me that it was like a weight lifted off of their shoulders once they were done.

If you were to take the approach much like Samantha and Albert, what is the most significant pain point for you? What is the ONE thing holding you back from designing an effective estate for your family? Once you find that deterrent, see what you can do to overcome the obstacle:  If it is finding the right lawyer-ask friends for a referral.  If it is cost-consider online options, or do some rate shopping with various firms.  If is fear-….give me a call 😉