By Cheryl Jahn

Make a Will Week has important lessons

Oct 8, 2021 | 2:43 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The sheer volume of law around making a will can be daunting. For most people, putting together a will is something of an after-though but it is one of the most important documents you can craft if you want to ensure your loved ones are cared for.

According to a 2018 survey of bc notaries, just 44 percent of British Columbians have a signed, legally valid, and up-to-date will.

“You really want to have a place where you can put your last wishes in writing,” explains Carolynne Burkholder-James with Marcotte Law. “You can put down things like who you want to administer your estate, who is your executor, who you want to name as guardians for your children. If you have minor children who are your beneficiaries? Who do you want to leave your money to?.”

While deciding your benefactors and laying out the terms of your will, one of the most important questions you have to ask yourself is who do you want at the helm? Who will be your executor to ensure that those are followed? While an estate may be as simple as disposing of bank accounts it can also be a lot more than that.

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“They can also be doing extraordinary things. If the person operating a business, delegating those tasks to somebody to run a business. Holding money in trust for minor beneficiaries and that can go for years because if you die and you’re leaving money to an eight-year-old, that money has to be held for them until they are at least 19 years old. So that can be a multi-year commitment.”

She recommends sitting down with your intended executor to go over some of the details of your life and what you may have planned for your will.

by Cheryl Jahn

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Make a Will Week has important lessons

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