I鈥檝e covered a lot of ground in the 45 weekly columns published over the last 9 陆 months.
I find my self saying 鈥淚鈥檝e written about that鈥� more and more, when providing advice.
Thursday evening, at a networking event, I covered the subject matter of a handful of separate columns in one casual chat.
I met a lady who had moved at some point from Alberta. We introduced ourselves, and when I told her what I do she brought up concerns about her will.
She鈥檚 a single mother of an adult daughter with no grandchildren. She wants her estate to go to her daughter.
She recalled having paid $800.00 for her will some years ago. She hoped not to have to pay that again!
As an aside, wow, that鈥檚 even more than the going rate today in 91大黄鸭 and there鈥檚 been some years of inflation since she had her will done!
One concern was that the will has the address where she lived at the time it was made but she鈥檚 moved several times since then.
I explained that the address is simply a tool for identifying her as the Mary Smith who made the will, not one of the many other Maria Smiths in the world. She鈥檚 the Maria Smith who at the time of making the will resided at 21 Crowchild Trail in Calgary.
Changing addresses has no impact at all on the validity of a will. The old address will continue to serve its purpose.
I wrote about that in a column published April 21st, 2024.
Another concern: her will was made in Alberta but she now lives in British Columbia.
I reassured her that an Alberta will is valid in British Columbia.
I wrote about that in a column published June 16, 2024, debunking widely spread misinformation that an out-of-province will is not valid in BC.
I also shared that her wish for her estate go to her daughter would be followed even if she had no will at all. Default provisions in our laws provide that the estate of a person without a will goes to their children if they don鈥檛 have a spouse.
I shared that information in a column published July 14, 2024.
And somehow the topic came up about how little is required to make a valid will. I told her that if she was being rolled into a dangerous surgery she could scrawl 鈥淚 want everything to go to my daughter鈥� on a piece of paper and that would be a valid will as long as she signed it and it was properly witnessed.
I wrote about that in a column published March 3, 2024.
I tossed in the fact that even if it wasn鈥檛 properly signed and witnessed, that scrawled note could be 鈥渃ured鈥� (validated) as your will as long as it was clear that you were intending to set out what you wanted done with your estate.
I shared that information in a column published February 25, 2024.
When I share legal information in a column, it鈥檚 only briefly screened on the news site. Yes, past columns are out there to be found, but the legal information is buried. I wonder if a monthly online seminar might be of value to review the basics and respond to questions. E-mail me at paul@hlaw.ca if you would be interested.
Now for a disclaimer or two.
Please don鈥檛 rely on the snippets of information I鈥檝e provided. Rather, read each of the columns I鈥檝e referenced which are available online. If you have any difficulty finding them, let me know and I鈥檒l help you.
And as simple as I try to present these legal concepts, there can be a lot of complexity to estate planning. There is no substitute for consulting with qualified professionals to ensure your wishes will be followed and to minimize the cost of passing your wealth to your intended beneficiaries.
Paul Hergott
Lawyer Paul Hergott began writing as a columnist in January 2007. Achieving Justice, based on Paul鈥檚 personal injury practice at the time, focused on injury claims and road safety. It was published weekly for 13 陆 years until July 2020, when his busy legal practice no longer left time for writing.
Paul was able to pick up writing again in January 2024, After transitioning his practice to estate administration and management.
Paul鈥檚 intention is to write primarily about end of life and estate related matters, but he is very easily distracted by other topics.
You are encouraged to contact Paul directly at paul@hlaw.ca with legal questions and issues you would like him to write about.
