Legal BASICS

It's important to have a will if you have any assets or dependants so that decisions about these things are not made for you by legislation when you pass away.

If you pass away without a will, your assets will go to your next of kin in accordance with Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act. If you don't have any next of kin, your assets will go to the provincial government. If you want to avoid your assets going to the government, it's important to have a will to provide for the possible situation where your next of kin are no longer around on the date that you pass away.

Even if your dependant(s) have another caregiver other than you at the moment, you should make provision in a will for who will be the replacement caregiver in the case that you and the other current caregiver are not around on the date that you pass away. 

A will builds in contingencies to provide for unforeseeable circumstances to allow you to keep control over your assets and who will care for your dependants.

Look no further than Legal BASICS for your trusted will and estate lawyer.

Whether you have assets and dependants or not, everyone has an estate that needs to be administered.

Everyone should use a will to:

(1) Make clear who should take charge of outstanding responsibilities (e.g., closing accounts, ending leases, making funeral arrangements, organizing belongings, etc.); and

(2) Give that person authority to do so. 

If you pass away without a will, the people left behind will have to choose who should administer your estate, then apply to the court for permission to do so. This will prolong and complicate the process of administering your estate, which could have been shortened and simplified if you just appointed someone yourself in a will.

A will is a simple yet comprehensive mechanism to leave each aspect of your life neat and tidy at the end of your life, rather than in a state of chaos for others to deal with.