Wills can make headlines. But perhaps the best will does its job quietly and efficiently, leaving everyone happy, or at least not too disgruntled.
Helping UHNW clients with their wills – and preventing them from making mistakes – is part of an advisor’s job. Here are ways to make the most of a will and keep clients out of the headlines, and out of court.
How to bulletproof your will
Adam Erlich often gets the call when a will is challenged. A partner at Fuller Landau LLP in Toronto, he is appointed by a court as a neutral third party who oversees how assets are distributed as litigation unfolds. He often works with members of wealthier families in which one or more members contest a will.
“It’s a costly, extremely invasive process,” says Erlich. “And it’s happening more and more due to the transfer of wealth.”
While families often have the best of intentions, if a will is hastily written, is vague or its contents are not communicated early enough, it may be challenged – a process that can cost millions and take months to years. Read the story here.
Having two wills can lead to estate-planning savings that add up quickly
When is it better to have two wills? More than one can be a winning strategy for complex estates, say experts in estate planning and law.
“Done properly it can save the estate and the beneficiaries time, money and headaches,” says Cynthia Kett of Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors in Toronto.
Can you challenge an unfair will? Where you live makes a difference
Whenever we see estates with significant wealth and disgruntled family members who feel they’ve been ignored, we find challenges to the will.
Making a claim takes time, however, and might also require baring details of the relationship between the deceased and the claimant to the court and the public. And it could cost a lot of money.
Who has the best luck in bringing challenges among the various provinces of Canada? Read our story here.
Tiniest errors in your will can result in big costs and delays later
Do you know where your heirs are? If people making their wills can’t answer that question off the top of their heads, think how difficult it will be for an executor when the time comes to settle an estate.
That’s just one of six or seven issues that can slow down and add tremendous expense to the settling of an estate. Check them out here.
Having the right kind of will is crucial in blended families
How do they work, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each, and when would one be more beneficial than the other? Here’s how to prevent unwelcome surprises later, especially in contentious families. Read our article here.
Avoiding estate-planning tussles – the fight over mom’s treasured peonies
You might watch TV shows and think the fights over the smallest items in a will are created just for drama. But Debbie Stanley of ETP Canada once had to mediate between three daughters who each wanted their mother’s peonies. Their mom had a will, but the flowers were not listed in her estate plan.
Sure, your estate plan divvies up your possessions and assets. But it also can be used to smooth over family disputes, prevent new ones from happening or make up for long-time inequalities or other unfair circumstances. Read about it here.
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