Wills are essential in determining how your assets should be dealt with, primarily after your death. Making a will can be very important because, in the absence of one, it can be difficult for your loved ones and the government to decide how to deal with the estate you leave behind. There are many types of wills, depending on the mode of making a will and its purpose.
Before discussing the types of wills in detail, we must understand what a will is.
What is a Will?
A will is a written document articulating how a person would like the government to distribute his assets after his demise. In a will, one can nominate his children, guardians, relatives, etc., so that after he passes away, the authorities dispose of his belongings accordingly.
It is crucial to consult a professional and make a will. If no will is present after a person’s death, the nation he belongs to will distribute his estate according to its legal regulations.
Such a decision can generally be against the wishes of the person who leaves assets behind. In such a case, the person who dies without making a will is called intestate, meaning one who did not make a testimony.
Following are the major types of wills acceptable in Alberta that you need to know about:
Types of Wills:
- Formal or Conventional Wills
A formal will is the most reliable type of will. A lawyer prepares it, and the grantor (the person who makes a will) signs it. However, the grantor must sign it with two capable witnesses, and it shall also contain their signatures.
The grantor should make sure that he signs the document at the end of it. Otherwise, the will is authentic only to the point where his signature is. At the same time, the rest of the document can face legal questions about its authenticity.
- Holographic Wills
It is a handwritten will. The grantor (the person making the will) writes it in ink, in his handwriting. In this case, a will does not need a lawyer or the presence of two witnesses to prepare it. Like a formal will, the grantor must put his signature in case of this will. The grantor cannot make use of typing machines to make this will.
Nevertheless, such a will is less authentic and is challenging to prove in a court of law if a dispute arises.
- Living Wills
This type of will has this name because it becomes operable while the person who makes it is still alive. Such wills can relate to using the will-maker’s assets for his medical needs in case he loses the capability to decide for himself or to convey his decisions at some stage. In Alberta, the appropriate term for this will is a Personal Directive.
Similarly, such a will can also pertain to another use: suppose the will maker falls victim to a particular medical condition. In that case, Will can contain his permission to use experimental methods (which are not perfectly legal and need permission to apply) for his recovery.
- Military or Mariner Wills
An on-duty soldier or a member of the Canadian Navy can make a will about his estate while he is on duty or at sea. In this case, the will does not have to fulfil the formalities present for other types of wills. Moreover, no one needs to be present as a witness when it is prepared. It remains valid even after the soldier is no longer on duty.
- Nuncupative or Oral Wills
As evident from the term, these are those wills in which the will-maker conveys his statement by word of mouth. Such wills are weak in their operation. A person who is on a deathbed or one who cannot undergo the process of preparing a written will can utilize this method. Such a will has multiple requirements to become reliable:
- Firstly, the grantor should make his oral testimony in the presence of witnesses.
- Secondly, the witnesses should have the legal capacity to become witnesses.
- Thirdly, the witnesses should try to get it written as soon as possible.
Notably, in Alberta, where only written wills are primarily of value, oral wills are allowed only to soldiers or sailors taking their last breath. However, the will loses its relevance if the soldier has survived or returned home.
Similarly, oral wills cannot supersede written wills. Hence, an oral does not hold ground in the presence of a written will.
- Joint Wills
In this case, the will of multiple people can become one will. Joint wills are those wills multiple people sign, thereby making their respective wills, but they ultimately take the form of one document. In this way, these wills attempt to put all the assets belonging to multiple people in one place.
- Mutual Wills
Like joint wills, mutual wills are those that multiple people sign. However, the difference is that, in Joint wills, only one document is present. On the other hand, in mutual wills, more than one will document is there, but they have the same contents.
Hence, multiple persons can regard mutual wills as similar without combining their separate estates.
- Pour-Over Wills
Imagine you have set up a trust for the financial safety of your minor children, to which you have donated your assets. However, some assets are still in your name, and you have not transferred them to that trust.
In this case, you will make a pour-over will, according to which the remaining assets, which are still in your name, out of personal decision or omission, will automatically be transferred to that trust. Hence, such will acts as a kind of safety net.
Bottomline
In short, a person must make a will if he wants to ensure that his grieving loved ones do not suffer after he passes away. Without an adequately made will, the heirs can face problems. They can also potentially engage in legal battles over the deceased’s intentions regarding his estate. Everyone owning a property should give due care to this subject.
Categories
Type your comment...
Name
Email
Looks good.
Please type something to post a comment.
Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.