where there’s a Will . . .

Might as well jump in at the deep end and ask: Do you have a legal Will? If no, why not? If yes, when did you last review and update it? Chances are you’ve thought about it from time to time, but simply haven’t sat down to act on what seems a sensible thing to do. The (sort-of) good news is that you’re not alone. Here’s what the Angus Reid Institute found when it surveyed a representative sample of Canadians* in 2018:

* The responses may be different where you live. Easy to google.

The not-so-good news is that should you die tomorrow, someone, a grieving friend or relative, or, should you depart without a valid Will (dying in testate), a court-appointed stranger will have to make sense of what’s left behind.

Should you now decide to write a new Will or revise an existing one, here are two good resources: Making a will and planning your estate (free at Financial Consumer Agency of Canada) and How to write a will: A guide for Canadians (from How-to-save-money, a company offering oodles of free guidance).

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And now, lest you fall into procrastination, I recommend you view an irreverent take on Making a death plan by Caitlin Doughty. She describes herself as “a mortician, activist, and funeral industry rabble-rouser” who co-owns Clarity Funeral Home in Los Angeles and hosts the educational web-series Ask a Mortician with 1.6 million subscribers.