Setting up a Will
 

Good morning all,
At present I do not have a will. I have thought about getting one set up for a while, but it's never one of those things I actually get round to doing. Recent family events, and a gentle ear bashing from my Dad yesterday, have made me realize that I need to "get on it" as it were.

What's the best thing to do, write it up yourself, or get a lawyer involved? Any recomendations from anyone for a lawyer around the Oakville area who could accommodate me in getting a will set up?

Thanks!

Re: Setting up a Will
 

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Lawyer all the way. We got ours done and it cost about $400. At the same time set up power of attorney for financial and medical mattiers

Re: Setting up a Will
 

Depends if complicated. I've been quoted as high as $900 here but reading various articles the on line ones can be reliable.

You can "have a go" with this one just to get an idea and you only need to pay to print in full.

Re: Setting up a Will
 

Hi, we got ours done a few years ago, including POA for financial and medical affairs. We used a lawyer who charged us a little over $900, which seemed a bit steep to me but my wife is happy it's done!

Re: Setting up a Will
 

Thanks so far to all. Power of Attorney is certainly something I was going to ensure was included.

Re: Setting up a Will
 

We are in the process of doing ours. Our Financial advisor started the ball rolling. Ours is very basic, she sent the basic info to a lawyer, we have to send details of our bequests and funeral wishes, they'll add them on. It's been very simple so far. Will cost around $600 for both.

Re: Setting up a Will
 

we actually used lawyers and Lattes https://www.lawyersandlattes.com/

they were very good and for hubs and I we did wills and POAs for property and personal care- all remotely!!

Re: Setting up a Will
 

I used https://www.legalwills.ca/ to get my affairs in order. Much cheaper than going through a lawyer etc.

Re: Setting up a Will
 

Yep, that's the one I looked at. About $40. All above board from my research.

Re: Setting up a Will
 

Once again, thanks all :)

Re: Setting up a Will
 

In general, I agree with the sentiments expressed by many of the posters above, i.e. a simple, uncomplicated, unlikely-to-be-contested will doesn't require a lawyer, and non-lawyer options are available that are potentially more cost-effective. (I've always remembered the "Guinness Book of World Records" record for the shortest legally effective will: "All to wife".)

*But*, your will might well *not* be that uncomplicated, e.g. it doesn't have to be worth a fortune to potentially involve:
- questions about mental competence
- how to handle bequests to those who might or might not be minors at the time of your passing (i.e. does a trust need to be set up?)
- how to handle varying allocations of bequests based on those who are or who are not "blood relatives", vs certain legal minimum allocations that may accrue as-of-right, depending on the probate jurisdiction.
- etc., etc.

I've faced the potential for some of these, and more, at the my parents' will level. And that's with both parents still with us, still pretty healthy, and with substantive agreement and goodwill amongst the major beneficiaries, about how it is all supposed to be divided up once both pass away, perhaps decades or more from now.

No online will-generation service can reliably handle that.

Get a lawyer, if any of the above applies to you.

Re: Setting up a Will
 

To update, we finalized our wills last week. $745 for the 2.