legal will questions

[peppy5]

looking to do a legal will. should i buy a kit or go set it up with a lawyer? what's the cheapest way to do one up? is a lawyer even required?

[Ojam]

looking to do a legal will. should i buy a kit or go set it up with a lawyer? what's the cheapest way to do one up? is a lawyer even required?

A will is something that is really important, the Kits do not give enough options and when it comes time for it to be used can lead to problems. A lawyer is really the way to go, but if you live in a province where holographic wills are legal, and you really can't afford a lawyer, then just make up one of those. It will be better then one of those kits.

[Txiasaeia]

"Holographic will" - thought you were referencing star trek or something ;) As far as I can see, they're not legal in BC, but are legal in NF & Lab and Ontario. Dunno about anywhere else. Sounds good to me!

[jerryhung]

Plz enlighten me, what is a holographic will?

Any info on will is helpful for us "immigrants" who don't get why Gov't gets your stuff if you don't have a will :(

[Ojam]

Plz enlighten me, what is a holographic will?

Any info on will is helpful for us "immigrants" who don't get why Gov't gets your stuff if you don't have a will :(

It is a will that you write yourself on just a piece of paper. When you make one you do NOT want to consult with your lawyer friend, even if it is going to be free because then the courts can start trying to decide what your real intentions were rather then just doing what your paper says. The Gov. does not get your stuff, if you don't have a will; rather they decide who it goes too based on the provincial laws. If there is nobody for it to go too your estate will be acquired according those laws but only if there is no Family that it can go too.

[grant]

I suggest buying one of those "self council press" books to prepare a will on the cheap.

Then, when you are done, pay for an hour with a lawyer for them to review it and correct any errors.

[Ojam]

I suggest buying one of those "self council press" books to prepare a will on the cheap.

Then, when you are done, pay for an hour with a lawyer for them to review it and correct any errors.

It is not only errors that are the problem with the will kits, it also has to do with options that they give. Is your life exactly like that of everybody else’s and fit nicely into check boxes and one line questions? Then why would your death be any different?

[ItzMe]

Quicken makes a WillExpert product that you can use on the computer - asks questions, gives tutorial videos, and helps you prep the will pretty easily - it's reasaonably straight forward, and if it encounters a situation which can't be resolved without legal assistance or advice you get a refund on the software AFAIK (at least thats what it was last year when I read the promotion)...

Personally, I'm not a fan of doing it yourself - but it's all relative I guess - if you don't have a sizable estate or any overly complex affairs to handle, I suppose you could do it yourself...a lawyer can be fairly expensive, but you can be more assured that your affairs will be handled properly and your estate settled by your wishes with a minimum of potential "issues"...again if the estate is sizable then a tax lawyer and/or accountant may also be useful to combine expertise with the estate lawyer ... many accounting firms such as Delloite & touche offer combined services from what I remember (unless you have a legal advisor that you prefer dealing with already or what not)...

Get some prices from different people/places and see where it's at - a few hundred or even a couple thousand dollars spent doing the will with the proper advice is not much if there's a few hundred thousand or more in the estate - the peace of mind, the confidence that it will stand up to challenge in court, and the ease with which your heirs will be able to go through the processing may make it worthwhile - on the flip side if the estate is only a few thousand dollars its probably better to do it with some software or one of those books :)...

[grant]

It is not only errors that are the problem with the will kits, it also has to do with options that they give. Is your life exactly like that of everybody else’s and fit nicely into check boxes and one line questions? Then why would your death be any different?

Uhh well usually wills aren't very complicated. Typically just saying which people get what stuff. Unless you have squabbling heirs, or funky trust plans, the only real purpose of a will is to speed probate.

Neither of us really know what kind of will this person wants, but probably if he was going to try anything unusual he wouldn't even hesitate to talk to a lawyer.

[peppy5]

thanks for all your suggestions, they were great. my wife and i don't have much assets except for cash, but we are moving out of the country and we were encouraged to do up a legal will. thanks again

[guest10586]

I heard a will isn't the way to go...a revokable trust was. Apparently they tax you on your will but on a trust they don't or something like that.

Suze Orman looks legit from what I see and hear about her. Don't ask me about the kit since I don't plan on dying anytime soon...

Read this article...it is interesting...

http://biz.yahoo.com/pfg/e14trust/

[grant]

Uhh well that's a USA article dude. Please try to remain focused on the right country.

There are no estate taxes in canada.

[guest10586]

Most of the same stuff applies. Obviously like I said, I'm not dying anytime soon so I have no idea how taxes go for death. Is there a difference between a trust or a will when you die then?

[Ojam]

Most of the same stuff applies. Obviously like I said, I'm not dying anytime soon so I have no idea how taxes go for death. Is there a difference between a trust or a will when you die then?

A trust can be part of a will. and grant is right there are no estate taxes in Canada.

[grant]

Most of the same stuff applies. Obviously like I said, I'm not dying anytime soon so I have no idea how taxes go for death. Is there a difference between a trust or a will when you die then?

How would you know if "most of the same stuff applies", since you're "not dying soon"?

In 2 minutes I spotted some obvious errors:

"Most powers of attorney become null and void when you become incapacitated."

Well duh, it depends on whether you create a POA that survives incapacitation or not. It's a CHOICE you make when it's CREATED.

That's because the probate fees are based on the value of the home, not the equity the owner has built up.

Totally wrong, at least here in B.C.

[Cough]

Ok This is RFD, right? Which means getting the best deals, right? So no flaming.

So go to this site (http://www.lawdepot.com/contracts/will/?ad=powerattny_related), enter your information (its a Canadian site so valid for Canadian law), then pay them for the printed version because you can't print off the site without paying.

Or if you happen to know how to access the HTML source (right click > view source) you might be able to get the HTML, import into Word, edit a little, and print off?

I think the online price is a pretty good deal. If you want to save more, then that is up to you. So no flaming me! :evil:

[guest10586]

I try and be helpful and get flamed. well, guess I gotta remember that grant hands out the advice in this fourm..."duh"

I voted for you grant...the middle one...

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/showthread.php?t=133247

[Txiasaeia]

A trust can be part of a will. and grant is right there are no estate taxes in Canada.

Are you sure about this? If I die, the gov't doesn't take a chunk out of my $$ that I want to pass on to my kids?

[grant]

I try and be helpful and get flamed. well, guess I gotta remember that grant hands out the advice in this fourm..."duh"

snapcracklepop, don't go away mad, just go away...

Are you sure about this? If I die, the gov't doesn't take a chunk out of my $$ that I want to pass on to my kids?

Txiasaeia, in BC you will pay a "probate fee" of around 2% of the estate's value, to complete probate. This is sometimes called a "tax" because (legally) you can't avoid it unless the estate is worth less than $10,000. But! anything named to a beneficiary (life insurance, pensions, RRSPs, trusts...) is exempt. though.. at only ~2%, it's not exactly a huge expense.

If you want to make things nice & easy on your heirs, name them beneficiaries everywhere you can (the default beneficiary is "estate") ... transfer all your real estate to be "joint tenants in common" (i.e., you both own a piece)... open joint bank accounts, etc.

[grant]

Oh ya, and if you happen to know your time is nigh, why not just give away all your stuff before you die? You can't enjoy that $100,000 too much from a hospital bed, but you CAN enjoy that stupid punk cousin of yours actually showing you some respect now that you paid him a grand!

[Ojam]

Oh ya, and if you happen to know your time is nigh, why not just give away all your stuff before you die? You can't enjoy that $100,000 too much from a hospital bed, but you CAN enjoy that stupid punk cousin of yours actually showing you some respect now that you paid him a grand!

I seem to remember there being a problem with that.... something to do with income tax, or something, I just can't remember what it was. Maybe it was something else..... OH ****, I remember now, if you end up needing to go to a special care home you will have to pay yourself, but if you can’t but you gave your cousin that money the government can then go and take that back and use it towards the special care home.

[grant]

I'm not suggesting gift themselves broke! But if you've got infirm 3 months to live, you don't need a million dollars...