A Guide on Everything to know about final wills 

The final will is a compilation of a person’s last wish after death. It explains how that person wanted to divide the property amongst the benefactors. 

Usually, dependents or spouses are the main beneficiaries in the last will document. To avoid confusion in the future, you can draft your final will very early in life. 

Since there are many legal aspects to writing a will, you will need an attorney to guide you with it. Estate lawyers Litvack Dessureault LLP are some of the best attorneys in Canada for this purpose. They will assist you with all the legal requirements of drafting a will.

Trusts and Estates – How can a lawyer help?

Writing your last will is not an easy thing to do. If you write it informally in a diary or a piece of paper, your successors may face a hard time challenging it in court. 

At the same time, if you own a lot of properties, leaving them to chance while you can still allocate them is not the best way to deal with things. 

All you have to do is draft your will through an attorney and in the presence of two witnesses. Most people refrain from the process because of the legal jargon involved. But, with the guidance of an experienced estate attorney, you can easily compile your will. 

What if there is a property dispute? 

Challenging the final will of a deceased relative is not uncommon. The most common grounds for refuting the will are:

Lacks valid execution 

If the will does not follow the requisite steps, you can challenge it for invalid execution. For instance, two witnesses must be present, and they must not be beneficiaries of the will. 

Testamentary capacity

Challenge if the person was in sound mind while drafting the bill.

Unfair division of property

If dependents and spouses are left out from the will, they can challenge it under this ground. 

Undue influence

The testator made the will due to coercion. It is the most common ground for challenging a will in Canada. 

Final Takeaways

If you have reasonable grounds to challenge a will that you find unfair, you should go on with it. But litigation costs are very high for such cases. 

The court needs sufficient evidence to invalidate a will. So, go for it only if you can afford to challenge the will and prove what is wrong with it. 

Besides the legal costs, challenging a will can cause a rupture in your family. It is also a time-consuming process. You will not know when the long-drawn process will get over and who will succeed. 

Once you have made up your mind to challenge the will, get in touch with an estates lawyer at the earliest.