Will Drafting

Do you own assets?

Are you a concerned parent?

Do you care about your family, friends and/or charities?

If the answer to any of the above questions is “yes”, then you should have a will. The benefit of consulting a Wills lawyer goes far beyond that of what happens upon death. You have the opportunity to put your mind to your current financial situation and may actually decide to take certain steps during your life time as well.

Will drafting is a very complicated area of the law. Most clients assume that it is an easy process by which the lawyer writes down the clients’ desired asset distribution. Will drafting, however, requires much more than that in order to fulfill the true intentions of the testator.

In drafting your will, Roxana Soica spends time on many factors specific to your case, some of which include:

• Proper client communication
• Taking steps to determine testamentary capacity
• Taking steps to inquire about undue influence and stress
• Ensuring that  information gathered is accurate and complete: i.e. a client may think that they understand the ownership interest in an asset but, often times, they do not have the right to leave it to beneficiaries. To avoid this problem, changes can be made during the life of the client.
• Statutory constraints on testamentary freedom
• Possible support claims of dependants
• Possible matrimonial property claims
• Estate administration tax: this is the tax that must be paid on all assets that require probate
• Income tax
• Appointment of estate trustees
• Laws of other jurisdictions: i.e. clients that own assets in other places
• Children: custodians and guardians of property
• Funeral and burial
• Beneficiaries and alternative beneficiaries
• Disposition of property
• Family home and family cottage
• Trusts and investment authorities
• Perpetuity and accumulations