ESTATE PLANNING, WILLS AND POWERS OF ATTORNEY

Having a Will and Power of Attorney will provide you with the peace of mind that your wishes will be honoured. Your Will allows you to specify who you want to benefit from your estate. A Power of Attorney appoints a trusted person to take over your affairs when it is necessary.

WILLS

A Will is a document that when properly drafted and executed according to the provisions of the Wills Act, that will give instructions that must be followed upon a person’s death regarding how they would like their estate to be handled by appointing an executor and guardians of any infant children. We can prepare a will that fits your needs at a reasonable cost. If you own assets if British Columbia as well as around the world, it is possible to have a Will that deals only with your British Columbia assets. If you die without a Will in British Columbia, your estate will be administered pursuant to the Estate Administration Act by the Supreme Court rather than by choices made by you.

It is important to consider who you would like to the executor of your will. You may also be choosing a guardian for your children and trustee for your estate. These are important decisions. Family members and those who will benefit under the estate are often obvious choices, however a lot of time and effort is required to administer an estate therefore choosing someone who will be in a position to allot the time and effort required is an important consideration.

What is a Wills Notice and why is it filed?

A Wills Notice is a document that registers the location of your original will. You may choose a safety deposit box, you may have a secure location of important documents, or simply a top drawer somewhere, or other place. Upon a person’s death, a Search for Wills Notice can be done to determine the location of a person’s Will. A Will is not much good if it is so well hidden that no one can find it after a person’s death. We will ask you where you intend to keep your original will and we will file a Wills Notice on your behalf unless you specifically ask us not to.

POWERS OF ATTORNEY

Power of Attorney is a document which allows a person (donor) to authorize another person (attorney) to sign documents and act on their behalf. A Power of Attorney used for financial arrangements such as buying/selling assets, signing tax returns, general banking and not for any health care decisions. A Power of Attorney can be for a specific purpose and time period such as authorizing someone to sign documents to sell a house while you are out of town; or a Power of Attorney can be general in its scope and authorize a person to do anything that you could do. The Power of Attorney can be revoked at any time you choose. The Power of Attorney allows the attorney to make decisions and take actions when we become unable to act for ourselves.

Contact my office to start your estate planning process with Peace of Mind