Final Arrangements

JUNE 2015 • PAGE 11 WILL&ESTATELAWYERS OFWINNIPEG 246St.Anne'sRd., Winnipeg,MBR2M3A4 200-99ScurfieldBlvd., Winnipeg,MBR3Y1Y1 207-2211M c PhillipsSt. Winnipeg,MBR2V3M5 204-989-4236 DAVIDG.VINCENT TANISB.JURY IF YOU ARE A SENIOR ... Youshouldensurethatyouhavethefollowinginplace: Will •The Executor - the person who will administer your Will and Estate; make decisions on your behalf; file appropriate tax returns; protect and preserve your assetsandfollowyourwishes. •The beneficiaries - this includes making special provisionsforbeneficiarieswithspecialneeds. •Handlingyourfuneralandburialarrangements. PowerofAttorney Youmaybecomeincapacitatedand/orunabletomanage your affairs personally. Without a designated Power of Attorney,thePublicTrusteecanassumecontrol ofyour assetsandadministeryouraffairs.Alternatively,someone elsecanapplytothecourttoobtaincontrol,butthismay provetobealengthyandcostlyprocedure. HealthCareDirective(LivingWill) Wecanhelpyouremovetheburdenandthepressure fromyourlovedonesofhavingtoguessyourwishes bypreparingadocumentthatwillenabletreatment decisionstobebasedonyourhealthcaredirectives. StandardFees* Seniors LastWillandTestament $175.00 $150.00 PowerofAttorney $125.00 $100.00 HealthCareDirective $75.00 $50.00 HomeVisit-Extrachargeof$125.00 *plusGST&PST-ratesarebasedperperson Contemporaryandtraditional memorialsforall cemeteriesandfaiths. ProudlyservingManitoba forfourgenerations. 3OOONotreDameAvenue (OppositeBrooksideCemetery) 2O4–633–6397 www.brooksidememorials.com Fromsimple,to... simplymagnificent. Fromsimple,to... simplymagnificent. By Jennifer McFee For the Free Press I f you want to ensure your final wishes are carried out, there's no getting around it — you need a will. Anita Southall, partner at Fillmore Riley LLP, stresses the importance of creating and maintaining an up-to-date will. "When a person passes away, it's too late to make sure that their wishes are met unless they've captured their wishes in a proper valid will," she says. Although it's possible to designate a beneficiary on an insurance policy without a will, a valid testamentary document is needed to transfer ownership of most assets, including houses, cottages, cars and investments. "That's one of the key reasons why the will is important," Southall says. "There's almost no other vehicle to get your stuff to the people who you want to have it." And as your circumstances change throughout life, you might need to modify the document. "In Manitoba, marriage revokes an existing will," Southall says. "People will think they have a will, but when they get married, that will is revoked by operation of law. Now they're back in the position as if they never had one." Children are another consideration. You might consider setting up trusts and guardianships when your family grows, and you should be aware that a common-law partner's children aren't considered your children unless you formally adopt them. Another time to reconsider your will is during a period of separation, divorce or common-law breakdown. "Divorce won't revoke a will but it will essentially treat the divorced partner as if they weren't alive for the purposes of division. So it's not that the divorced spouse can still take their share under a will, but things need to be redone," Southall says. "Same thing if they're named your executor. If they're still in your old will and you haven't changed it when you die, they will be treated as if they aren't alive and they won't be able to administer your estate." If you don't have a will at all, relatives will inherit your property in accordance with a Manitoba statute. "There is a very specific structure of how it flows down through your bloodline. It starts with your spouse or your common- law partner, who is not your blood kin, then it includes your children, their children," Southall says. "If you don't have anyone in your immediate bloodline of kinship, then it's expanded upwards and outward — up to your parents, out to your siblings. It can go to aunts and uncles, to their children. It can go as far as it needs to go." Manitoba law also defines who can apply to administer your estate if you die without a will or without naming an executor. "Essentially, it's your closest next-of-kin who live in Manitoba. You have to live in Manitoba to even apply, which immediately causes problems for a lot of people who have children living all over the place. They might be their closest next-of-kin, but they can't apply," Southall says. "You could end up with a cousin who is a stranger to you completely. Now they're being tied to this estate when they literally have no relationship with the deceased. They just happen to be the closest living relative." Verbal wishes are not binding, and self-made wills can sometimes create confusion due to obscure language and unclear intentions. "The irony is that people will spend hundreds of dollars on everything under the sun and accumulate all this stuff, but they won't spend $500 to put a basic will in place that says exactly how things will be distributed in their estate," Southall says. "What people get from a lawyer is the language that gets it right. The court knows what it means so that the outcome is what the person intended in a simple, cost-effective way. It can give people comfort once it's actually done." Once the will is created, Victoria Lehman of Victoria E. Lehman Law Offices stresses the importance of keeping it in a place that is safe and accessible. "A lot of people think they can just have their wills at home, but they can get lost or taken out with the trash," Lehman says. "As we get older, we may have periods of forgetfulness or dementia. Sometimes people even throw out the original, thinking that the copy is good enough." Instead of storing your will at home, Lehman suggests keeping it in a safe deposit box and letting loved ones know where to find it. *Providing estate planning legal services for 30 years ❖ Estate probate and administration ❖ Wills ❖ Estate planning spousal agreements ❖ Powers of attorney ❖ Health Care Directive (Living Wills) Our goal is to understand your legal needs and provide reasoned and effective solutions 3651 Roblin Blvd. Wpg., MB R3R 0E2 204.949.3241 www.canadalawonline.com John. W. Barber B.A., J.D., TEP INTEGRITY | EXPERIENCE | PEACE OF MIND use youR will PoweR make suRe youR final wishes aRe met

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