Q. A widowed mother in her 70’s has just revealed to her son and daughter-in-law that she has no legal will. She has all of her financial accounts at one bank, and has verbally told her children that “whatever money is left in those accounts when I die” should be divided evenly among her grandchildren. Her son feels she needs to know what happens to those accounts without a will in place.
A. If you pass away without a will, there is one thing you will almost certainly be leaving to your family: an emotionally draining and potentially expensive burden. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to step in to say, “Wait a minute! This is what I wanted. This is how we’ll settle it.” Fortunately, you can step in now – and literally exert your will.
Let’s start with the happy scenario. You die (okay, that’s not the happy part), but the good news is you have a will and have appointed people you trust – called your executors – to make sure that the terms of your will are carried out exactly as you wished. In preparing your will, you might very well have discussed some or all matters with your beneficiaries (i.e. the people who benefit from your will) so that they aren’t surprised, and indeed understand the reasoning behind your decisions. You’ll also have discussed the legal and financial implications with your professional advisors, including a Financial Planner. The whole process after your funeral runs smoothly, with no hard feelings or disagreements and life goes on with sweet memories of you that will last forever.
If you die without a will – called “intestate” – then things immediately become more complicated. Your earthly belongings now become governed your provincial intestate act. . It sets out, without exception, who the beneficiaries will be and how much they will receive. Any minor beneficiaries will receive their full share as soon as they attain the age of majority.
In Saskatchewan, a spouse receives the first $100,000, with the remaining assets divided between the spouse and children. Thus, the grandchildren would not receive anything if there is no will. (However, if there is no surviving spouse or children, how the estate will be divided depends upon who the closest relatives are such as parents, siblings, nieces and nephews.
Don’t expect all of that to happen overnight, either. Without a Will, no one can manage your affairs until an administrator is appointed by the Court. The estate is held in limbo until this step is completed. Furthermore, this administrator might have to post a bond and pay additional legal fees.
So to conclude: Make no mistake. Get a will – and if you have a will, make sure you update it regularly.
State your case. When you come to Synergy Credit Union, we’ll find the answers. For more information, including links to convenient calculators and other tools, go to www.synergycu.ca –or visit your nearest branch of Synergy Credit Union today!
