Death takes a toll on a family but dying without a will makes things worst. Here are a few bad situations that you can avoid by having a will before your departure.

Are you in a common-law marriage? Look out!

• If you are married without any children, your spouse has a de facto right to everything. An unmarried partner or common-law partner, on the other hand, does not enjoy the same benefits. In fact, an unmarried partner receives no automatic benefit when their significant other dies without a will (also known as “dying intestate”). Common-law partners are not considered to be your “next of kin” under the Succession Law Reform Act. In the event you are not married, your estate would pass to your children. If you have no children then your next of kin would be your surviving parents or, if none, your siblings. If your siblings are no longer alive then your nephews and nieces would split the estate equally. Notice that nowhere in this list of “kin” is your common-law spouse. If you remain, common-law spouses, you need to take the necessary steps to prevent disputes.

Your kids will fight over what’s left!

• Who is your heir? Do you have children? If you have children and die intestate, the children share equally in your estate. However, what happens if your estate does not divide so “equally”? If you own additional property, such as a rare family heirloom or a cottage passed down over generations, the pricelessness of the property may not be factored into the divide. If your heirs cannot come to terms on how to divide your estate, your precious and sentimental property may have to be sold.

Fighting is expensive.

• As noted above, dying intestate may lead to disagreement over how to split your assets. As a result, your relatives (direct or distant) locked in legal disputes over your estate could end up with a fat bill to pay. Speak to any Wills and Estateslawyer and they will likely have horror stories of parties disputing for so long that they dwindle away estates worth over six to seven figures. They could be left with pocket change in comparison to what your estate was originally worth.

The house always wins.

• Not everyone has surviving relatives; others may have relatives living abroad, but no knowledge of their whereabouts. If you fit into one of these categories and you die intestate with no one to claim your estate, the government gets it all. The Crown becomes the sole owner of your property, as there is no one left to claim it! Section 47(7) of the Succession Law Reform Act states, “if a person dies intestate in respect of property and there is no surviving spouse, issue parent, brother, sister, nephew, niece or next of kin, the property becomes the property of the Crown, and the Escheats Act”

 Your legacy and namesake may be forgotten.

• What value do you put in leaving behind your name? What does your name mean to you? Do you have a business name or web domain? What happens to your small business, corporation, or even your private practice if you die without a survivor? If you truly value any of the above, the last thing you’d like to pass on is a legal battle and a divide between family and friends. It happens more often than you think
• Self-drafted wills may not offer adequate legal protection, particularly if you identify with any of the above scenarios. Talk to a lawyer to ensure that when you pass, your estate is distributed as you wish. Hummingbird Lawyers have experts who are all too familiar with the above scenarios. They can advise and assist you with the preparation of a comprehensive will.

Save your loved ones the trouble of dying without a will!