No one wants to think about what happens after they鈥檙e gone or if they鈥檙e no longer able to control their own affairs. It鈥檚 human nature of course, none of us want to face our own mortality let alone plan ahead for what happens when we鈥檙e gone.
But here鈥檚 the thing, by failing to plan ahead and getting your affairs in order, you run the risk of your wishes not being fulfilled or worse, leaving your family in disarray. That鈥檚 why forward planning is so key.
And yet despite its importance a staggering number of Canadians haven鈥檛 made any provisions for what will happen to their estate after they鈥檙e gone. In fact a recent survey suggests that as many as
But as the old adage goes, if you鈥檙e failing to plan, then you are planning to fail.
鈥淧eople don't want to talk about their death. They don't want to talk about what happens if they're mentally incapacitated and are unable to make their own decisions. It is a scary thing to think about鈥�, says Nima聽Rohani,an Associate at Victoria based estate specialist McConnan Bion O'Connor & Peterson. 鈥淲hat's even scarier though is when you are in that situation and your family's left holding the bag.鈥�
Rohani says that often the people who end up paying for your lack of planning are your loved ones. Whether it鈥檚 because they don鈥檛 know what your final wishes were or have differing opinions over how you wanted your affairs to be handled, even the closest knit of families can wind up divided by your death or incapacitation.
Additionally, it鈥檚 not just the emotional toll that makes forward planning so important, according to Rohani your loved ones could also wind up footing the financial bill too as it doesn鈥檛 matter if you're leaving behind a small fortune or a modest sum, in these scenarios everyone loses because it鈥檚 the estate that鈥檚 forced to foot the bill for the legal action. 鈥淚f you have a small estate and you're fighting over it, at the end of the day, the estate might be worth half of what it would have been if the person had just spent the $500 to get a Will in place - it鈥檚 a scenario in which everyone loses, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be that way.鈥�
McConnan Bion O'Connor & Peterson provides peace of mind by helping their clients make plans as to how their estate will be dealt with in the future. They help with drafting and revising Wills, Powers of Attorney, Disability Trusts, Representation Agreements, Estate administration, Estate litigation, developing care plans for young children or disabled dependents, and so much more.
For more information about estate planning check out their website or call 1-250-385-1383.
