If you’ve written a will—congratulations—you are amongst the half of Canadian adults who say they’ve written a will. If you are amongst the other 50% of Canadians, read here to find out why you don’t want to die without one.
But here’s a question for everyone who does have a will — is it up-to-date?
Because if it’s not, it may not do what you want or need it to do when you die.
5 reasons to update your will
Your will is not something you can set and forget; life and circumstances change, which means your will must change too.
Update your will when:
- Someone named in your will dies before you.
- Your marital status changes.
- Your net worth changes because you acquire new property, become significantly wealthier or lose property or assets.
- There are significant changes in circumstance to any of your beneficiaries or executors.
- You have more kids. (Just because your kids are related, doesn’t mean they’ll share with each other when you die.)
There are two ways to update your will. One way is to revoke the old will, draft a new will and destroy all previous versions of your will. The other way is to add a codicil to your existing will, which is basically an amendment to your will, which must be signed, dated and witnessed just like a will. Not sure which is right for your circumstances? We have the answer.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. It is not intended to replace actual legal advice. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
