not2old

Something that comes up now & then, I have a few unanswered questions which I trust someone else has thought about the 'will situation', who also has gone through to finalizing this?

Appreciate any help, input or suggestions, thanks.

On the Spain forum there is a post on 'wills' with comments there 'don't do it with a lawyer, go the 'Notary' instead'

http://britishexpats.com/forum/spain-75/wills-892248/

What about making a 'will' in Canada - should it only be done through a lawyer, or a do it yourself 'template' - what are people doing, or what do do as the best cost effective way of having a will?

Would a will made in Canada still be valid if folks moved to another part of the world, if not, would that mean anew will has to be made

And no, the wife & I do not have a will for the reason everything is in both names. Granted if we both kicked the bucket at the same time, there will be a mess to clean up.

Our simple will would be

If one of us kicks the buck, the other gets it all, nothing to the children, charity or anyone else

Last person standing pops their clogs, then all the assets divided equally between the two children


.

MillieF

This is strictly IMHO but go to a lawyer every time. I am all for do it yourself, with most things, but not wills.

I would say chategorically Yes, you need a will in every country that you have assets in.

There can be so very much heartbreak and unhappiness left to those behind due to either non existent or badly drawn up wills.

Souvy

Notaries are not the same thing everywhere. Here in QC, as in other places such as France (and possibly Spain) they are lawyers like any other lawyer, except that they can't litigate. Our reciprocal wills were drawn up by our notary ("notaire"), along with our powers of attorney. The same bloke also married us.

The wills are clear. If I snuff it, she gets the lot. If she snuffs it, I get the lot.

If we both go under the same bus, our two kids get the lot, with her sister and my brother acting as executors.

The powers of attorney are essentially the same. She has total control over me (already does actually), I have total control over her (for once) and her sister gets to pull the plug on both of us if it comes to that.

Almost Canadian

Whether a lawyer, or a Notary, is required, will depend upon the jurisdiction.

One assumes that somebody legally qualified in the jurisdiction, with a specialism of wills and estates, will be the best person to speak to if professional advice is required.

If you elect to prepare your own documents, be careful to ensure that you don't fall foul of the correct procedure. For example, usually, holographic wills need to be entirely hand written (a combination of printed text and hand writing will invalidate the will); ensure that the fact that the witnesses "witnessed" the signatures is evidenced as, if they are no longer around when the will is probated, proving the will may be problematic; ensure that there are not silly rules regarding the location of Personal Representatives.

If one wishes to prepare a will in each jurisdiction that one has assets, be careful that the wills don't contradict one another (residuary clauses that give assets to different beneficiaries). There is normally a procedure in common law jurisdictions for the probate court to recognise wills executed in other jurisdictions. That being the case, it is unlikely that more than one will is required.

BristolUK

This looks a good template.

Just write it out in your own handwriting, have it witnessed and you're good to go.

Literally.

Almost Canadian

My wife and I don't have wills. The intestacy laws in Alberta are more than sufficient for us.

dave2003

I now live in England-but most of my assets-financial only-are in Canada.


I searched hard for information on making a will here in England which would be accepted in Alberta.


I wrote to 4 lawyers in Alberta, and 4 in England, explaining my situation, and all stressed how difficult (and expensive) and what a minefield it would be to make a will either in Canada or England that covered assets in the other country.


I did more research and found that a will made in England covering non-real estate property (financial assets) in Canada would be easy to execute by an English lawyer.


I submitted a draft copy of the English will to a Canadian lawyer who verified what the English lawyer said.


So I went ahead and had the will witnessed.


During my research I came across LegalWill US/Canada/UK. For about $50.00 they will prepare (online) a simple and straight forward will covering assets in the US/Canada/UK. For an extra fee they will submit the will to an independent lawyer for legal compliance. I decided that I would rather have mine drawn up by a lawyer.


My total costs were £205.00.

bats

We went to a lawyer. Also had our power of attorney for finances and medical matters sorted out too.

not2old

What did it cost you?

BristolUK

$400 for single - including POA seems to be the rate here.
$600 for a couple.

bats

About $400 for two wills, Power of Attorney.

BristolUK

Nobody mentioned sites like these yet. I've had them saved for a while but not looked properly.

https://www.legalwills.ca/?ref=http%...2furl%3fsa%3dt

https://www.lawdepot.ca/contracts/ca...A#.WLNxEPLjX3g

https://www.dynamiclegalforms.com/wills_splash.php

not2old

indeed & I have looked at these, along with

TaxTips.ca - Will Sample

Just copy & paste to fill in the blanks

'Almost Canadian' our legal guy on here covered it well (thanks AC) in his posts #4 & #6

There is also 'The intestacy laws in Ontario'

Thanks to everyone for their help, input, suggestions & advice
.