Many people think that they don’t need a Will because they own their assets jointly, or because they don’t have much.

But a Will is not just about financial transactions, it is also about how you leave your affairs for your loved ones to manage without family conflict.

Who will care for your minor children if you die? You may think this is an easy answer, but you might be surprised to find that your siblings or parents or in-laws all feel entitled to raise your children. But if the issue is guardianship, why am I talking about a Will?

Persuasive power

Having a Will that names your preferred guardian can prevent court battles over custody of children. In a dispute over guardianship of minors, the wishes of the parents are considered to be very important. As a formal legal document, a Will has a lot of persuasive power, or weight, as evidence of the parents wishes in the event of a dispute. In the eyes of the court, it is definitely stronger than a “she said/she said” argument about what other people say the parents wanted.

Another issue that can arise without a will is that your common law spouse will not have any automatic rights to your assets when you die. Without a Will, the only thing a surviving common law spouse can do is find the money to make a court application a part of the estate. And you can bet that the deceased’s family will contest that application because, if successful, it would reduce the automatic inheritance of blood relatives when there is no Will.

This is why common law couples must have Wills if they want to save their surviving spouse the time, money and aggravation of trying to get any financial support at all, and so that they can leave something for their spouse when they die.

And one more issue to think about: If you don’t have a Will, you don’t get to choose the person who will step into your shoes and make decisions about your estate. That’s right, your estate trustee will be your closest blood relation as determined by law, regardless of your actual relationship with that person. In addition, if you’re an Ontario resident and you die without a Will, it’s expensive and sometimes impossible to have a non-resident of Ontario be your executor. So, your executor might be an even more distant family member.

Financial security

If you care about who will look after your children when they’re grieving your loss, if you care about family harmony, if you care about the financial security of your common law spouse, and if you care about how your hard-earned estate is managed after you die, you absolutely need a Will.

When it is time to have a Will and Powers of Attorney prepared, please don’t try to do this yourself or have a lawyer who does incorporations try to help you. Check around and find a lawyer who focusses on Wills and estates and will be capable of providing the proper advice on how to structure your affairs. This can be one of the most important documents you need to prepare in your life. Protect yourself, your spouse, your children and ensure what you want gets effected when it needs to be.