|  Very
few Canadians have a will, fewer have a currently updated will. Without a
will, you cannot outline directives regarding your most "priceless asset"––your
children. A will allows you to clarify your selection of a legal guardian
for your children. Here are some steps to take in preparing for the transfer
of parental responsibility while planning your will with your lawyer.
• Choose an individual––perhaps your parents,
a brother, a sister, or a friend to assume the appropriate parental role in
your absence. Consider living quarters, age, health, their ethics, financial
means, and their current family stress load. Talk to them and get their approval
first. Do not simply assume your parents or siblings will take the children.
• Select a contingent guardian in case the first choice
denies the guardianship, takes ill, or dies.
• Ensure that the guardian will have sufficient capital
to provide for the children, which may include the need for life insurance.
Know your current financial net worth and how much income it can generate
for your children.
The guardian clause is only an interim appointment.
In your Will you can insert a provision that you are appointing
someone as your child’s guardian (which most lawyers do). It is important
to remember that any such appointment is only good for 90 days as it is an
interim appointment only. Therefore it allows all interested people to get
before the court (which makes the final decision about who will be the guardian).
Why include the guardianship clause if it is only an interim appointment?
Because it is strong evidence of who the parents wanted the guardian to be
– but it is not determinative. That is up to the court.
Also include in your will.
• Choose a trustee to invest and manage any money that
your children may inherit.
• Express your financial directives regarding the maintenance
and education of your children, and the age when they may personally receive
the balance of the inheritance.
• Update your directives when your circumstances change,
reflecting for example, changes in your net worth; a new child in the family;
a deceased beneficiary or desired guardian; or special wishes regarding the
transfer of certain assets to specific children.
• Choose a competent, informed, and trustworthy executor
with the patience to follow time-consuming legal detail. |
