What is a Will and why is it important to have one

What is a will?

Will is a legal document which contains information about your wish of choosing a person who you want your property to be inherited by, after your death.

You may choose to assign  your assets to one of the following:

Your beneficiaries

You can choose family members, friends, spouse, or charitable organizations as beneficiaries to your assets. The details of allocation can be mentioned in the will.

A guardian for your minor children

When it comes to the responsibility of your child’s personal care, who is under 18 years of age, you may nominate someone to be their guardian after you die. The nominee will handle all the finances related to your child after your death.

An executor

In some cases, you may choose to nominate an individual or an institution to manage your assets, expenses, and taxes on your behalf after your death. It must be noted that an executor’s role is fairly significant and hence you must have proper planning in place before you assign this responsibility.

Everything you need to know about Estate Planning.

A will may not cover your financial assets such as Life Insurance, Retirement Plans, Assets owned as joint accounts or Transfer on Death accounts, community properties or Living Trusts.

 

What happens if I don’t have a will?

Often the term is referred to as intestate – a person died without having a valid will for an estate. The Wills and Succession Act direct the next steps that can be taken. It contains a default list of beneficiaries who will receive priority to handle the estate.

Default beneficiaries for intestate are listed below:

• Spouse (survivor) or an adult partner. In case if both exist the estate will be split equally.
• Spouse or partner receives the estate in case they have children from a descendant.
• Some provisions might restrict estranged spouse or partners from inheriting the estate.

 

You can refer to this link to know more about the intestate laws in Alberta.

Our lawyers at Right Legal can help you create a will or resolve an issue with an unclaimed / conflicted Will.

Connect with one of our verified Estate Lawyers now.

 

 

 

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