Where There’s a Will There’s a Way?
Prince George, B.C. – Creating a will is not just for senior citizens.
That’s the message from Victoria who have proclaimed April 6-12 “Make-a-Will Week.”
“As part of a Make a Will Week 2015, the Province is zeroing in on the younger generation, and calling for people under the age of 40 to get busy and make their wills now,” says Suzanne Anton, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
According to Victoria, a recent poll found that 80% of people aged 18 to 34 don’t have a legal will, while 49% of adults from age 35 to 54 don’t.
That number shrinks to 17% for people aged 55 and over.
“Many people don’t realize that if you die without a will, you are deemed to have died “intestate” (without a will) and your estate will be distributed according to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, not necessarily in accordance with your wishes,” reads a government news release.
To encourage people to make a will, the provincial government recently lowered the age at which you can do so from 19 to 16, and simplified the process.
“No matter what stage of life you find yourself in – you need a will. A will is one of the most important documents you will create in your lifetime. Make a Will Week encourages everyone to sit down with their loved ones and begin that important discussion today,” says Anton.
Comments
If you have a will, The Government can still overturn it if you leave a rotten child out of it.. That my friends is BC law.
I wondered bout that… Probably best to give everything away before you go.. Thanks for the tip
Another tidbit about wills. If you and your spouse happen to die in an accident, and they cannot determine who died first, the entire estate of the older individual will go to the family of the younger person of the couple. If you don’t have a will, you better hope you like your in-laws and your spouse’s other family members. Your own family will get jack squat.
Always include the kids somehow. Give them $250 so they do get something, gives them less chance of winning if they decide to challenge the will in court.
Its true that BC has liberal provisions for variation of wills when a spouse or child is not provided for, courts don’t routinely overturn wills. They look at issues such as whether the stated reason for disinheriting a child is reasonable and conforms to the facts. If you disinherit a child for a legitimate reason, the court will not change that.
With regard to Brother Gecko’s statement about simultaneous deaths, I don’t think that is a correct statement of the law. Section 5 of the Wills, Estates, and Succession Act provides that in this case “rights to property must be determined as if each had survived the other or others.” There is no preference for the older or younger person.
What Brother Gecko said about simultaneous deaths used to be the law but has been changed.
Don’t be so hard on B.C. and the rotten child provision. I think in their madness there is method. If you have a rotten child, there’s a good chance they are an under achiever in need of taxpayer help on a regular basis. If you leave them nothing, we the taxpayer continue to pay for them, if we make you provide for them in your will, we make you provide for your rotten kid vs giving it all to your religion or some offshore charity.
Gecko is spot on. Dad has married young Sophia from the Phillipines, they get smacked by a semi in the pine pass, can’t tell who dies first, Dad deemed to die first. No will, he left everything to Sophia, her no will, she left everything to her surviving family.
Dad needs to have a will that leaves his estate to a trust, which provides for who he wants it to provide for, so that if he dies first, his wealth is distributed according to his wishes. Might want a prenup as well.
Actually BillPoser is correct. My previous info was based on my own will experience (and my spouse’s) from a few years ago. Apparently with WESA the rules have changed, and for the better. What I found…
“In the past the younger owner was deemed to have survived and that person’s estate received all of the jointly owned property. Under WESA, however, the joint ownership is severed and each owner’s estate receives a 50% interest in the jointly owned property as a tenant in common.”
On another note…. those of you who live common-law, you’re married in the eyes of the land after one year. Better get a will.
The will variation provisions originally came in with the movement for women’s suffrage. It used to be that the husband typically owned most of the couple’s property and could leave his wife with very little.
“If you have a will, The Government can still overturn it if you leave a rotten child out of it.. That my friends is BC law.”
You must treat your children equally or the courts may overturn your will.
OR you have legally disinherited a child through the courts.
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