Estate Planning When Expecting: A Guide for New Parents

Adding a child to the family—whether that be from having a baby, adopting a child, or gaining a stepchild—is an incredibly exciting time in your life. There’s so much to think about. Scheduling birthing classes, planning the new nursery, picking out the right car seat, baby-proofing the house, and choosing your baby’s health care provider are just a few of the things on your mind. One important item that might not be on your list but should be is that new parents need an estate plan.

We understand that the desire to protect your child from harm is immense. The problem is that life is inherently unpredictable. You can never truly know what unexpected events might occur that will affect your child in life. It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but wouldn’t it be best to put a plan in place just in case? Estate planning is about protecting the people you love and doing the best you can to make sure they will be taken care of, no matter what happens or when it happens.

Do the people closest to you know what to do if something happens to you?

There’s no point in having an outdated Will, or worse, no Will at all. Because let’s face it: children pretty much change everything, and if the worst should happen to you and your partner, you want to make sure your children’s future is secure. By creating a Will now, you can help you make sure your child is cared for in the event that you pass away unexpectedly—meaning your child has a legal guardian and sufficient funds—and that your estate passes on to the right person.

Estate planning is at least as important as car seats and bike helmets for the safety of your children. You do not want to put off creating a Will, only to have it be too late due to an unexpected tragic accident.

Here are some important reasons new parents need an estate plan:

Protecting Your New Family

Who Will Take Care of Your Child After You Are Gone?

When you’re pregnant, the last thing you want to think about is the idea that you won’t be around to raise your child, but it’s important to consider what would happen to your child should the unthinkable happen.

Specifically, if something happens to you and your spouse/partner, who will raise your child? When creating your Will with your child in mind, it is important to begin considering who you want to retain guardianship of your child to ensure that your child will always be taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter what happens.

The best way to guarantee that your child is raised by someone who shares your values or beliefs and understands what you would want for your child is to name a specific person as guardian in your Will. Spend the time during your pregnancy thinking about who you’d want to raise your child if you’re unable, then ask that person if they’d be comfortable accepting the position. We understand that it can be a daunting and emotional conversation, but deciding on a guardian for your child is one of the most important tasks you’ll ever do. There are a lot of things to consider, for example:

Does the location of the potential guardian allow your child to stay close or at least connected to their family, friends, school and activities or would your child have to make major changes in those areas?
Will the lifestyle of this person make it possible for them to parent your child the way you want?
Does the guardian have the physical ability and energy to care for your child?
Does the guardian have the ability to emotionally support your child through an extremely difficult time?
Do the religious and moral beliefs and political leanings of the guardian line up with those of your family?
Do the age and health of the person make it feasible for them to parent your child? (Tip: elderly parents may not be the ideal choice)
Does the potential guardian have a parenting style you believe would work for your child? Are you comfortable with their views on education and discipline?
Is the potential guardian someone with whom your child already feels comfortable?
If the potential guardian has other children, how would your child fit in?
If the person is married, are you comfortable with their spouse also raising your child?
Does the guardian have any legal reasons why they can’t take on your child?

Once you’ve determined who you want to be the guardian and they’ve accepted the position, you must legally document your wishes. We cannot stress enough how critically important it is for expecting parents to designate guardians in their Will.

Parents who delay naming a guardian or choosing an executor usually do so because they are deadlocked over the decision—they cannot agree on that “perfect” choice. Get comfortable with the fact that there is no perfect choice. You can always amend your choice if you change your mind. However, if you don’t choose a guardian, and you pass away or are unable to care for your child, the court will appoint a guardian for you and the choice could be someone who you would never want to raise your child. Oftentimes, they’ll start by considering family members, but do you really want a judge to determine who will care for your new baby or appoint someone that you disapprove of? This can cause your child additional trauma when they’re already going through a trying time.

It is important to remember that even if you already have children with potential guardians named, you still need to name a guardian for your new child.

Naming Beneficiaries: Is Your Child Financially Secure?

Many parents of minor children become confused as to how to leave assets to their children in a Will—after all, it’s not like a toddler can exactly be a homeowner. The best option is for the money and assets to be put in a trust for the benefit of your minor child. You name your child as the beneficiary and name a “guardian of the estate”, also known as a trustee, who will distribute and manage the trust. This option gives you more control over how much and when your child receives portions of the assets. For example, you could decide that once your child is a young adult, you want to give a certain percentage of assets to them at specific ages or when they meet certain milestones such as a college graduation or marriage.

If your stepchildren or adopted children are a bit older, you may want to start thinking about what items in your home mean the most to each of your children and consider leaving that item to them in your Will. For example, is there a specific necklace that one of your children has become attached to and hopes to one day inherit? It may be important to you to make sure they receive that item when you pass away, and the best way to ensure this is to put it in your Will. No matter how big or small your estate, naming beneficiaries for assets can eliminate pain, confusion and grief.

Planning for an Accident or Illness

Who would pay the bills if you become unable to make financial decisions, even for a short period of time? By creating a financial power of attorney, you’ll name someone who can act on your behalf in regard to your financial or legal matters. This way, if you become incapacitated your rent or mortgage could still be paid and other regular expenses for caring for your child could also be covered.

Before an unforeseen situation presents itself, make sure your estate plan includes an updated healthcare proxy, also referred to as a living will or representation agreement. A healthcare proxy outlines how you want your family to proceed should an emergency take place and who would make medical decisions for you if you were unable to make those choices for yourself. If a medical emergency does happen, having your wishes documented will make an already high-stress situation easier to manage. This gives you peace of mind that you’ll receive necessary care and prevents potential conflict among family members that could be stressful to your child.

How Do You Provide for Unborn Children? What if Another Child is Born After Your Establish Your Estate Plan?

In terms of how an estate plan can provide for unborn or “after-born” children, there are a few drafting techniques that can address this issue. For example, your Will would typically refer to your current children by name and their date of birth. However, when making a Will it is not necessary to specifically name the people whom you would like to inherit your estate. For example, your Will can be drafted in such a way so as to make provision for groups of persons to inherit your estate in the event that you die.

In the section or article of your Will that provides how your estate and assets will be divided, you could simply indicate that your estate and assets will be divided into separate and equal shares for each of “my surviving children”. That would mean that whatever children you have at the time of your death—including any children born to you, or adopted by you, after the date you sign your Will—would receive a share of your estate and thus the Will would work as you intend, even if you did not amend it after having a new child.

When including future beneficiaries in a Will it is important that their identity is clear. The description “my surviving children” is sufficiently clear to be understood who is intended to benefit from a Will. Descriptions which are vague or unclear like “my favourite children” should be avoided as a bequest made to such a group of persons will probably be deemed void by the court.

Estate planning may be difficult to think about, but it is an essential step for every new parent. Above all, it is about ensuring that your child is cared for, your wishes are honored, and your legacy is preserved, no matter what the future holds.

We understand the unique challenges and concerns that come with parenthood, and we’re here to ensure that your estate plan reflects your deepest wishes and aspirations for your loved ones. By using an online estate planning tool like Legal Wills, you can create digital estate planning documents entirely online and make amendments to your existing estate plan as your family changes. This can help ease your worries with the certainty that you have a comprehensive plan in place even if something unexpected happens up the road.

Understanding the words used in your Will

Are you thinking of writing a Will? Have you perhaps heard of terms like “Executor”, “Bequest”, “Living Will” and are now worried that the process of writing your Will may be beyond you? You may be wondering whether it is possible to write a Will without understanding all of these legal expressions. After all, that’s why many people hire a lawyer to prepare the document for them.

You may be surprised to learn that you really don’t need to understand any of these legal words in order to use a service like LegalWills.ca. However, the words may appear in your final Will, and in that context they will make sense to you. We also explain some of the key definitions when you are working through the service. But you may be interested to learn exactly what some of these words actually mean.

Perhaps you wrote your Will with a lawyer. You have had it witnessed and now it’s stored at your lawyer’s office but you still have no idea what it says. Don’t worry, this isn’t an uncommon situation. Many people go through the whole task of writing a Will and signing it when they don’t fully understand what it says.

Unfortunately in today’s legal world, estate attorneys don’t always have sufficient time to go over every detail and word of a Will. This is partly because their time costs money, but also because writing a Will is an everyday common practice to them. Therefore, they often neglect to go over the basics with their clients. An experienced and understanding estate attorney should always be willing to go over every detail of your Will and explain any confusing language so that you feel comfortable when signing it. However, the legal environment can be intimidating and attorneys may assume that you understand the legal terms when in fact you don’t.

At LegalWills.ca we almost fall into the same pattern ourselves when we talk to customers about the “Executor” and the “Beneficiaries”. We forget that some people may be hearing these words for the first time. They are words that are rarely, if ever, used outside of the context of writing a Will.

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Couple’s Will – Writing Wills as a couple in Canada.

Fifty-five percent of the people who use the Will writing service at LegalWills.ca describe themselves as married, while a further eleven percent are in a common-law relationship. In most cases, these people are preparing their Wills as a couple. In this post we want to break down exactly what is meant by a Couple’s Will, and the steps involved in creating Wills for two people when using the service at LegalWills.ca

Creating a couple's Will at LegalWills.ca — Couple creating their Will at LegalWills.ca

How can I prepare a Will in Canada?

Let us start by discussing the different ways to prepare a Last Will and Testament in Canada. It boils down to essentially three approaches:

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Why writing a Will is the first thing to do as a new parent

Guest post by Barry Choi: a personal finance and travel expert based in Toronto who makes frequent media appearances. His website moneywehave.com is one of Canada’s top resources for anything related to travel and money. Barry shares his thoughts on the importance of Writing Will as a new parent.

In 2017, my wife and I welcomed our daughter to the world. I wish I could tell you everything went according to plan, but it took years to get pregnant. It’s not like something just clicked one day, we had to get help via IVF.

It was a daunting process with many appointments and tens of thousands of dollars spent. We researched the topic and spoke to various healthcare professionals and parents who also faced a similar ordeal. When she was finally born, we knew she was a miracle, so we wanted to ensure that we cherished every moment with her.

Writing a Will as a new parent — Credit: Pexels

Unfortunately, we made one significant mistake right away. We didn’t get our wills set up. It took close to a year before we got them done and admittedly, there was more than one occasion where I thought to myself, what if?

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What should be included in a Will if you have children?

If you have young children, it is critical to write a Will. The challenge of course is that you are busy. Co-ordinating time with a lawyer, and perhaps your partner, is very difficult. So difficult, that this is a task that is unlikely to make it to the top of the To-Do list for today, or even this week.

Fortunately online services like the Will writing service at LegalWills.ca makes the process much more convenient and significantly more affordable than preparing a Will with a lawyer.

This article gives an overview of why a Will is critical, what you can do within a Will, specifically if you have children, and how you can prepare a Will in a cost effective and convenient way. We also discuss why and how you can update a Will if circumstances change.

What are the key elements in a Will?

You probably think of a Will as a document that describes the distribution of your assets (possessions) after you have passed away. This is, of course, a significant part of a Will, and one of the most important reasons for preparing one.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Make a Will Week & Month

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard of Make a Will Week or Make a Will Month. But what actually is Make a Will Week? Why did it begin? What’s the point and what does it mean for you? Several Provinces recognize their own specific week or month annually to promote the same message: you need to make your Will. In the following article, we’ll go into why this is so important and answer several of the questions that you may have on Make a Will Week and Make a Will Month.

Make a Will Week & Make a Will Month | FAQ

Make a Will Week and Make a Will Month are annual awareness campaigns, scheduled by their respective provinces, with the goal of informing and educating adults on the need for a Will.

“Determining how your wishes are expressed is a critical decision that impacts families and loved ones”, stated Lynne Vicars, President of the Ontario Bar Association – the originators of Ontario’s Make a Will Month.

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The Ultimate Guide to Preparing a Will – 2024

Introduction to Preparing a Will

Everybody should have a Will. Not making a Will is unfair to those you leave behind. Even if your plans for estate distribution are simple and you do not have many assets, it is still much easier for the people that you leave behind to work with a Will than to resolve the estate of a person who has died intestate (without a Will). If you do not feel that you have significant assets now, remember that your Will only comes into effect when you die, not now, and you cannot possibly predict how large your estate will be when your Will is required. Preparing a Will is one of the most important tasks you can undertake if you have loved ones. Sadly, most of us put it off until it is too late.

By law, any competent adult can make their own legal Will; the law does not require you to have an attorney or a lawyer, to do this. A Will does not need to be a complicated document; it simply has to clearly state your wishes for the distribution of your estate.

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Making a Will in Canada – the 2024 Complete Guide to your Options

What is the purpose of a Will?

Your Last Will and Testament allows you to speak after you have passed away. It does absolutely nothing and has no powers whatsoever all the time you are alive. But as soon as you die your Will has two key functions: it allows you to make key appointments and it allows you to describe the distribution of your assets. These assets include money, possessions, houses, investments, everything that you own. Making a Will is one of the most important responsibilities of every adult, and it should not be put off until a distant day in the future when you are “old”.

You should not think of making a Will as a once-in-a-lifetime event. You should always have a Will in place that reflects your current situation. You should write your first Will as soon as you are an adult, and then update it throughout your life as your circumstances change.

Your Key Appointments

By Making a Will you can make two key appointments.

Your Executor

This is the person you entrust to carry out the instructions in your Will. They have the responsibility to arrange your funeral, gather and secure your assets, and then distribute them according to the instructions in the Will. It is a very important appointment. Continue reading →

Setting up a Pet Trust: who cares for your pet after you are gone?

According to a recent survey conducted by BMO Bank of Montreal, 89 percent of Canadians consider their pets to be a member of their family. It stands to reason then that most people would want to ensure that somebody looks after their pet after they are gone. But hardly any Canadians have set up a pet trust to ensure that their pet receives proper care after they are gone.

If you make no provision for your pet as part of your estate plan, your dog or cat could potentially end up at the humane society. In 2015 82,000 cats and 35,000 dogs were taken into Canadian shelters, of which 48 per cent of dogs and 57 per cent of cats were adopted.

A Pet trust is not just for the wealthy

Whenever there is mention of a pet trust in the news, it is usually because of an extreme bequest, or staggering wealth of the pet owner. We saw is with Leona Helmsley who in 2008 left $12 Million to her pet Maltese. Continue reading →

Preparing a Last Will and Testament – top ten reasons why you need one now.

There have probably been a number of situations in your life when you have thought, “I should be preparing a Last Will and Testament.” And for some reason or another you have never actually taken the steps needed to update or create your Will. Don’t feel too embarrassed, because you are certainly not alone. In 2016 only 38 per cent of Canadian adults had signed a legally valid Will. Of those that did, one third were out of date.

Even if the data was restricted to Canadians over the age of 35, only 38 percent of those polled had a legal, up-to-date Will.

Canadian adults with a Last Will and Testament

Canadian adults over the age of 35 with a legal Last Will and Testament

This leaves a lot of people legally unprepared and their families unprotected or provided for.

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Write a Will in Canada: the complete guide to our Canadian Legal Wills

Learn to write a Will at LegalWills.ca

An increasing number of Canadians are turning to services like the one at LegalWills.ca to write a Will. But every day we received requests from our customers to clarify a term, or clause in their Will. Usually this request comes with an apology for their lack of understanding, and every time we have to give the reassurances that;

Although writing a Will is extremely important, it is not something that most of us do more than once of twice in a lifetime, so there is no reason to expect anybody to understand these terms.
A Will is such an important document, but the legal profession intentionally tries to make the document more complicated that it needs to be by using arcane language. There is absolutely no reason for a Will to say, “I give, bequeath and devise” when a simple “I give” would work. Or to say, “I nominate, constitute and appoint” when a simple “I appoint” would mean the same thing. But using arcane language is a way of pushing people into using the services of a legal professional because it seems beyond the capabilities of the layperson.
Nobody should be required to learn all of these terms in order to write a Will, and there are no clear concise guides that we could find.

Having said that, our Wills still use a lot of legal language, because the document is based on Continue reading →

Have you “Made a Will”? Make it your New Year’s Resolution.

It is that time of year again. The time when we all make New Year’s Resolutions for things that we know we really ought to do, but never quite get around to. We all know the popular ones. Go to the gym, lose weight, spend more time with our family. However, there is one New Year’s Resolution that we should all make sure that we keep. Have you made a Will? We should prioritize “making a Will“. Before you head to the gym and pay to join again, make sure that you protect your family and loved ones by writing a Will.

So many people do not make a Will, but really there is no excuse not to. It is one of the most important things that you should do to make sure that your family and friends are provided for in the event of your death. Continue reading →

Guardian for your children – How to name a guardian in your Will.

How to Choose a Guardian for Your Children

One of the most important things which you need to consider when you are making your Will is how to choose a guardian. They will take care of your minor children in the event of your death. This really isn’t something that anyone ever wants to think about, but it is one of the most important decisions that you need to make. No one likes to think of their own mortality. However, making a Will and appointing a guardian is one of the most caring things that you can do for your minor children.

If you do not choose a guardian for your children and both parents die, the court will have to appoint one. This will usually be a willing volunteer. However, you really don’t want to leave something so incredibly important to chance. A judge can appoint whoever they want to. This person could be your worst nightmare, but a judge may have of way of knowing that if you haven’t made your wishes clear. Continue reading →

Wills for Blended families and stepfamilies

First a definition;

A stepfamily or blended family is a family where at least one parent has children, from a previous relationship, that are not genetically related to the other parent. Either one or both parents may have children from a previous relationship. Children from a stepfamily may live with one biological parent, or they may live with each biological parent for a period of time.

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Before you make a Will – some definitions for non-lawyers

Writing your Will can be a very simple process, but because it is only done a few times in your life, it can be intimidating. It can seem daunting because there are so many unfamiliar terms used in the estate planning world. Expressions that are second nature to the legal community, but are not in everyday use for the rest of us. Before you make a Will, it is important to familiarize yourself with some of the more common expressions.

Just because the terms are unfamiliar, they are not complicated concepts. In this article we will explain a few of the words that you will need to know before you make a Will. We hope that we can demystified the process a little.

Intestate

The term intestate is typical of much of the legal language in that it is derived from Latin, and in today’s World it means that you have died without a Will. Continue reading →

Why I haven’t written my legal Will – a confession

A month ago I was at a dinner party. I met a couple who had young children and the conversation naturally led to how we make a living. I explained that I was one of the founders of LegalWills.ca, the online convenient affordable service for writing a legal Will. The couple were thrilled, they had two young children, they knew that they needed to prepare their legal Will, but hadn’t got around to it. It was on their list of things to do, but as with all tasks with no real deadline, it never seem to make it to the top of their list.

They loved the idea of just going online one evening, stepping through the service, compiling their document, and then printing, signing in front of witnesses and creating their legal Will. So excited were they, that I gave them my business card with a discount code.

One month later, they still haven’t written their legal Will.

They still haven’t named an Executor for their estate, guardians for their children, made any charitable bequests, set up trusts for their children, created a distribution plan for their estate.

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How I wrote my Canadian Will in five minutes. And you can too.

At LegalWills.ca we claim that you can create a well-drafted Canadian Will in as little as 20 minutes. Clearly, there are some important decisions to be made, and it’s not something that should be written hastily, but if you have a straightforward situation and you know how you want your estate to be distributed, it really shouldn’t take you very long to prepare your Will.

To illustrate this, in the following video I create my Canadian Will, or more specifically my Ontario legal Will, in about 5 minutes.