Will

[zandrmom]

I don't yet a have a will and I know I should! I am looking to do it online as it will be fairly simple and straightforward. Has anyone ever used one of the online will sites? Any suggestions?

[sirandrewr]

I'm pretty sure they are not legal. A holographic will is legal but a lawyer is worth the money if kids or large amount of assets are involved.

[Ciel]

If you are in Scarborough, ON you are near a Walmart with the legal firm that does simple wills for $99+HST. Shwa Girl posted the article link on SC. http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/383014-...s-99-a-canada/

From Law Society of Upper Canada (ON body that regulates lawyers):
http://www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=2147483838

If you are in another province, look up the law society for your province to see if there is any information on simple wills.

[brunt]

Many people don't realize that there are very reasonable and fair laws in place in case you die without a will, or intestate in legalese. For instance, you can read about Ontario's succession laws here: http://jonathanflawn.com/pdf/Dying%2...20a%20Will.pdf.

However, this is not to say that you should not have a lawyer draw up a will. It is just that many people believe - quite incorrectly - that if you don't have a will, then something terrible will happen like the government will take all of your money. The rules are quite clear, and are quite reasonable for the vast majority of cases.

If you want to try a holographic will, have a peek at this link: http://www.gblegalclinic.com/Will%20kit.pdf. Again, a will with a lawyer is best, but if you are not happy with the default distribution of assets, then a holographic will is better than none at all. Just make sure that others are aware of its existence - a lost will is no will.

[Natalka]

brunt, that's very true to point out about holographic wills. Both my parents had them, and with six kids, there were no problems.
Also, my dad's was not in English - it's actually quite beautiful, it basically starts like a wonderful love letter to my mom...

[Ciel]

I'm quite certain that if Ontarians could calculate what a public trustee's time spent on estate matters would cost an estate that more people would see the point of getting their legal affairs in order.
See Ontario fee list here:
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o.../section-d.asp
Manitoba's fee list:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/publictrustee/services/fees.html
Alberta's fee list:
http://humanservices.alberta.ca/guar...fee-rates.html
Saskatchewan's fee list:
http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/PGT-Fees
Yukon Territory's fee list:
http://www.publicguardianandtrustee...._schedule.html
Northwest Territories' fee list:
http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/PublicT...tates-2011.pdf
Nunavut Territory only provides contact information:
http://www.justice.gov.nu.ca/apps/au...px?page=boards
Quebec's fee list (hard to find until I opened the Role of the Curateur Public link):
http://www.curateur.gouv.qc.ca/cura/...res/index.html
Nova Scotia's fee list (general percentage indicated only):
http://novascotia.ca/just/pto/FAQ_de.asp#G
Prince Edward Island-no fee list shown:
http://www.gov.pe.ca/jps/index.php3?number=20663&lang=E
New Brunswick's fee list is a not-found page:
http://www.gnb.ca/0062/PT-CP/fees-e.asp
Newfoundland and Labrador-no fee list shown:
http://www.justice.gov.nl.ca/just/de...stee.html#what


A small estate might not be much to a trustee but if there is some cash, surviving spouse or dependents would be able to pay some funeral costs or deal with living expenses with the cash. Imagine if that cash was spent on the trustee--the surviving family members will be out of luck unless they can sell off or pawn belongings or have people to help them.

[Silk]

Thanks to OP and those who posted info and resources.

Silk