“People procrastinate because it is expensive and inconvenient,” he said. “They wait until they buy a house, move, or have children. Life happens, so people wait for a time in their lives where nothing will change, so they don’t have to redo their will, and then it never gets done.”
Hewson noted that advisors can also suggest their clients let their loved ones know where their wills and important documents are kept, but also ensure they leave an inventory of their assets so their executor can find everything to settle their estate. That’s particularly important with digital assets, such as bank account statements that now are emailed rather than mailed. Given the number of digital assets – including online financial accounts, blogs, PayPal, social media, cryptocurrency, photos, and videos – they can keep an asset inventory online, too, and give their executor the key.
He said LegalWills.ca has done 500,000 wills in 20 years, and COVID was a major accelerator for online will services as people thought about preparing their wills and many law offices may not have been as accessible. LegalWills.ca has also expanded its services to provide for pet trusts and lifetime trusts as well as separating people’s U.S. and Canadian assets in the will.”
“Online wills are the wave of the future,” said Hewson. “Tell your clients, ‘If you care for people while you’re alive, then you should take this one step and make sure they’re taken care of after you’re gone’.”
