According to this poll taken in 2018, 51% of Canadians do not have a Will. Of those surveyed, only 35% of those with a Will have one that is up-to-date. That is 65% of Canadians that either have a dated estate plan or don’t have one at all. Why are the majority of Canadians putting off estate planning?
If you die without a Will in Ontario, the division of any assets on your death will be determined by the Succession Law Reform Act. This Act strictly sets out who will inherit under your Estate and might exclude those who you would have otherwise left assets to (such as a common law spouse).
If your estate plan is out-of-date, you could be excluding those you now wish to include or including those you now wish to exclude from inheriting your assets. There are also potential for problems in an outdated Will because of the impact of legal decisions that have occurred since the Will was written.
There are several reasons that people will give for not having a Will or not getting their current Will updated. These include being too young to need a Will, not wanting to think about death, getting a Will costs too much money, and not having enough assets to need a Will. Without estate planning, you could potentially be leaving an estate that could be significant work and very costly to your family and friends. That is why it is so important to have an updated Will, because it is not only yourself, but those you are leaving behind that you have to consider.
