Do you lack a formal Will? You’re not alone. About half of Canadians (51 percent) don’t have a last Will and testament in place, according to an Angus Reid Institute poll.
Wills are usually something Canadians rush to get done just before we’re about to travel. However, Wills are top of mind right now for another reason – Coronavirus. With the total deaths approaching 7,000 in Canada from Coronavirus, this has many Canadians thinking about preparing or updating our Wills.
Having a Will in place is much better than not having one. If you pass away without a Will, it’s called dying “intestate.” When this occurs, the government in your home province determines how your assets are to be distributed. It may be according to your wishes, but it may not be.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather make this decision myself rather than letting the government decide for me.
A Will may be top of mind these days, but preparing one isn’t as easy as it used to be. You may not be able to or feel comfortable booking an appointment with a Will and estate lawyer during the current COVID-19 pandemic. That’s where FormalWill.ca comes in.
FormalWill.ca is Canada’s #1 online resource for estate planning. You can find everything you need to get started on your estate plan. Browse through the informative articles and find tips and information for preparing your own estate plan. Create your online Will, Power of Attorney, Living Will or Pet Will affordably and at your own convenience.
More and more Canadians are interested in doing their Will at this point, given that COVID-19 has spread as far as it has. People are slightly more anxious and feel the need to get their Wills done. It’s generally an afterthought; one that people start right before they are about to travel. Or it’s something that people start while a relative or someone else is sick. I understand that it’s not something that people generally like to think about, but they have been thinking about it a lot more during the past two months.
FormalWill.ca lets you prepare a Will online, which is perfect during COVID-19, but there’s just one problem: you need witnesses for a Will to be considered valid. It is generally recommended that the witness not be a beneficiary of the Will – someone who is going to benefit from the Will – but generally speaking, anyone can be a witness.
Luckily finding witnesses during a pandemic doesn’t have to be complicated. You just have to get creative. People can still maintain their physical distance while having their Wills witnessed. They can ask potential witnesses to witness from the safety of their porch using their own pens, while maintaining distance.
That solves the issue of getting your Will witnessed, but what if you don’t have a printer at home? You could ask a friend to print the documents off for you. Otherwise, there are copy and print centres open that you can visit.
FormalWill.ca makes the most sense if you’re looking to create a basic Will. Generally speaking, if your estate isn’t too complicated, you can use the FormalWill.ca website.
New customers can come in and create a brand-new Will at any time, simply by entering their information into our online secure order form, and printing off their Last Will and signing instruction letter.
Visit FormalWill.ca to create your own Will online today and make sure loved one are protected during COVID-19 and beyond.
Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.