Glenn Caldwell is the Vice-President of Sales for NAL Insurance Inc.and Healthy Trucker. For over 25 years, Glenn has worked closely with many fleets across the country to ensure their Owner/Operators have the protection they need to Keep Rollin’. You can reach him (800) 265 1657-3350 gcaldwell@nalinsurance.com www.nalinsurance.com www.healthyfleet.com.

A few years back I was sitting in the living room after watching an old Michael Douglas movie called “Coma” and I said to my wife, “I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens to me, promise me you will just pull the plug.” My wife gave me her disgusted look, got up, unplugged my computer, and dumped almost a full beer down the kitchen sink.

Okay, so the last part didn’t really happen, but seriously, how many of us have actually made our wishes known through a will? I recently read an article that suggested as many as 70% of Canadians die without making a will. Why are these numbers so high?

There seem to be so many reasons for procrastinating when making a will. People are too busy, have other priorities, don’t know an attorney, or can’t face some of the circumstances that the will should address. Superstitions cause others to put off making a will. This illogical thinking is based on the premise that if a person does not have a will, he or she will not need it. Hmm…

A good financial plan not only needs to ensure you have the proper amount of disability and life insurance, it’s really essential to have a valid will for your family’s financial protection. When I was younger, aside from thinking I was invincible; I didn’t feel I had much need for a will because I didn’t have any kids and very few assets. To be honest, I found it very hard to keep even a nickel in the bank. Come to think of it, not a lot has changed except I know no longer think I am invincible and I have a wife and two kids to support. If I took a poll of readers, I’m guessing that a number of you would assume that if you were to die without a will that your estate would simply pass to your spouse.

The truth of the matter is, in Canada if you die without an actual legal will you are considered to have died “intestate.” What this means is that the government decides how your assets will be divided, regardless of what you wanted for them.

Depending on the province where you live, there could be “intestacy rules” (having no legal will) that actually decide who your beneficiaries will be and how much each of them will be getting. Even though your spouse and kids will most likely end up with your assets it may be a huge and unnecessary legal cost your beneficiaries will need to pay.

I’ve been in the insurance industry for many years, but by no means am I an expert on wills so I decided to do a bit of research. Interestingly enough, one thing I found out was that some provincial intestacy rules do not recognize a common-law status. This means that depending on province you live, a common law spouse could be left out of the estate entirely and may have to petition the courts for support as a dependent that would add more legal costs. No matter what your family situation, intestacy does not take into consideration any intentions you may have for the distribution of your estate. For your peace of mind today and your family’s peace of mind tomorrow, making a will is an easy, relatively inexpensive solution. It can be a very flexible, legal document. With a will, you can assign a person(s) executor) or a financial institution to manage your estate after your death. You may specify who you want to leave all our assets to, and identify guardians if you still have minor children.

Having a will also helps to ensure that your estate is distributed as you wish, that your kids will have the care and resources they need, and that your death doesn’t create a legal and administrative burden to your family. Here are few more excellent reasons why you need a valid will:

• Your will clearly informs your surviving family members, friends and others how and when your wealth and personal property should be distributed.

• As I mentioned above, if you have minor kids, your will can name the person you want to Glenn Caldwellserve as their guardian should something happen to both you and your spouse. This person would be responsible for their physical care, health care, education and general well-being until they reach 18 years of age (19 in some provinces). If you don’t name a guardian, there may be a dispute among family members as to who is best suited to act as guardian, resulting in a need for court or provincial government involvement. An interesting point I also found was that even though the courts will fulfill your guardianship request in most cases, they can still overrule your request if they feel that appointing a different guardian would be in the best interests of your kids.

• You can make specific requests that are legally-binding by including them in your will.

• If you have elderly parents who depend on you for care, you can provide for them.

• A will also ensures that favorite people, organizations, causes and even pets are beneficiaries of your estate if you wish.

Sadly, despite all of the benefits listed above as well as others that I haven’t touched on (such as power of attorney for health care), many people never really get around to making their will. It may be that they think it’s morbid or that they just don’t want to talk or think about it until they are much older. It doesn’t have to be a huge document that takes a ton of time to prepare and is costly to put together. A will can really be simple and inexpensive. There are the do it yourself will kits, but if you try to go beyond basic planning in your will, the kits may not accommodate all your intentions. A kit is better than no will at all, but having one drafted by a lawyer that specializes in wills may still be the best route to go.

Although we all hope we are going to live to a ripe old age, it doesn’t always happen that way. Bottom line is, without a will, it can result in costly litigation and additional emotional pain for those that we love. So here’s your action plan. If you haven’t prepared a will or updated it lately within the next 30 days, why not talk to your financial planner about who they would recommend you go see and then get ’er done?
About the Author

Glenn Caldwell
Vice-President-Sales
NAL Insurance Inc.

(519)432-8333 ext. 3350 (Phone)
(800)265-1657 (Toll Free)
(519)434-5220 (Fax)
(519)671-1060 (Cell)

www.nalinsurance.com
www.healthytrucker.com

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Glenn Caldwell is the Vice-President of Sales for NAL Insurance Inc.and Healthy Trucker. For over 25 years, Glenn has worked closely with many fleets across the country to ensure their Owner/Operators have the protection they need to Keep Rollin’. You can reach him (800) 265 1657-3350 gcaldwell@nalinsurance.com www.nalinsurance.com www.healthyfleet.com.