Disclaimer: This blog is only intended for educational purposes and shouldn’t be used as a substitute for legal advice
If you’re 18 years of age or older with a sound mind, you can choose to make your will. Howerver, drafting your will can be very tricky if you’ve no one to guide you in the process. Before you begin, you must decide what exactly you are going to achieve from your will.
Here are some of the most important things you must consider when making your will.
Foreign property
If you’ve got property abroad, you’ll need to look up rules regarding ‘forced heirship’. These rules may prohibit you from leaving your properties to your chosen beneficiaries.
In this case, you’ll need to draft a foreign will. Your executors must have all the details of your foreign assets and get them in touch with your foreign lawyers.
Beneficiaries
The next important question you need to ask yourself is, who are you going to benefit from your will? The answer might be very simple for most people, i.e., their children, blood relations, and spouses. However, there’s more you must think about. For example:
- Could your spouse choose to remarry and outcast your children from the will
- Could your spouse cast out estranged offspring, and what will their rights be?
- Who will benefit if your children and spouse die in the same accident?
- What happens to the children from your previous relationships?
Family business
If you have a family business and want to make sure that it continues after your death, you’ll have to make some tricky decisions, especially when only a part of your family is involved in the business.
This can be more challenging if your business includes high-value assets, but they don’t produce a lot of revenue to support more than a small family, for example, in the case of farms. That’s why it’s important to discuss these issues before drafting your will.
Assets
First and foremost, you must finalize all your assets. Your assets are everything you own, including investments, properties, savings, and their exact values. There are quite a few tax and financial planning involved when you begin your will-making process.
Trustees, Executors, and Guardians
Who will you choose to execute the terms the will? Your children and spouse might seem the first choice if your children are all adults. But if your children don’t get along together, you must consider hiring a professional and impartial executor.
Your will’s executor also normally acts as your trustee. For instance, if your children are minors, the trustees could take care of your children’s inheritance until they reach the inheriting age. This commitment is usually a very long-term one.
If you’re looking for wills and estate lawyers in Toronto, Nanda & Associate Lawyers can help you. We offer experienced will lawyers who understand the complexities of drafting wills can assist you diligently in the process.
Our firm also has professional civil litigations lawyers, personal injury lawyers, and family lawyers to assist you legally in related matters. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.
