Why Every Adult in Canada Needs a Will

A friend of mine lost his dad a couple of years ago. No will. His dad wasn’t rich — he had a paid-off condo, a Toyota, two bank accounts, and a small life insurance policy through work. Pretty normal life.

It took my friend almost a year to sort everything out. The bank froze the accounts. The condo couldn’t be sold until the courts decided who legally owned it. His mom — who didn’t speak much English — had to sign papers she didn’t fully understand. Lawyers, court fees, paperwork in two languages. All while she was grieving.

He told me later: “If my dad had spent one weekend writing a will, none of this would have happened.”

That’s what this article is about. Not because I want to scare anyone. Because I’ve watched too many families go through what they didn’t have to.

What a will actually is

Forget the lawyer movies for a second. A will is just a written instruction sheet. It says three things:

• Who gets what when you’re gone
• Who’s in charge of carrying out your wishes (called the executor)
• Who takes care of your kids if you have young children

That’s it. It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be fancy. A good Canadian will can fit on a few pages.

Think of it like leaving a note for your family before a long trip — except this trip is one you don’t come back from, and you want to make sure nobody fights and nobody has to guess.

What happens if you don’t have one

This is the part most people don’t understand. If you die without a will in Canada, you don’t get to choose what happens. The provincial government decides for you, using rules called intestacy laws.

Each province has its own version, but the general idea is the same: your spouse gets a chunk, your kids get a chunk, and the math can get strange. In Ontario, for example, as of 2025 the surviving spouse gets the first $350,000 (called the “preferential share”) and then splits the rest with the children (verify current figures with your province’s law society). In B.C., it’s $300,000 if all the kids are from the marriage, and $150,000 if not.

If you’re not married — even if you’ve lived with your partner for 20 years — common-law rules vary wildly by province. In some provinces, your common-law partner gets nothing automatically. Your money goes to your kids, your parents, or your siblings instead.

And here’s the part nobody tells our parents: the bank freezes your accounts the moment they find out you’ve passed. Without a will and an executor, your family has to apply to the court to get access. That process is called probate, and it can take months. Sometimes longer.

So even if you don’t have much, the people you love can be stuck waiting on bills, rent, and groceries while the system catches up.

“But I’m young. I don’t need a will yet.”

This is the most common thing I hear, especially from people in their 20s and 30s who just landed.

I get it. Thinking about your own death feels weird. Especially when you’re young and healthy and busy building a life in a new country.

But here’s the thing — a will isn’t really for you. It’s for the people you leave behind. And the younger you are, the more confusion you can prevent.

If you have kids, your will is where you name a guardian — the person who raises them if something happens to you and your partner. Without a will, a court decides. The court doesn’t know your sister is the one who’s good with kids and your brother is the one who isn’t.

If you have parents back home depending on you for money, your will is where you can leave instructions to keep that going. Without it, the money might go somewhere else entirely.

The immigrant family twist

For families like ours, there are extra layers that Canadian-born folks don’t deal with.

Property in two countries

A lot of our parents own things in Canada and back home. A small apartment in Saigon. Family land in Guangdong. A flat in Hong Kong that’s been in the family for generations.

Canadian wills generally only cover Canadian assets. For property in another country, you often need a second will written under that country’s laws. This is something a lawyer who handles cross-border estates can help with. It costs more, but it saves an enormous mess later.

Family in multiple countries

If you send money to siblings or parents in Vietnam, China, or anywhere else, write that into your will. Be specific. Don’t assume your spouse in Canada will keep sending it after you’re gone. They might. They might not. They might not even know about it.

Gold and jewelry

I’m not going to get specific here for reasons our parents will understand. But if your family keeps anything of value outside of a bank, your will should mention it generally. “The contents of [location] are to go to [person].” That’s enough. Don’t write down where it is. Write down who it goes to.

Language and culture

Canadian courts work in English or French. If your will is in Chinese or Vietnamese, it can still be valid, but it complicates everything. Get it drawn up in English (or French in Quebec), even if you have to sit with a translator to do it.

How much it actually costs

This is the part that surprises people. A basic will in Canada is cheap.

• Online services like Willful, Epilogue, or LegalWills: roughly $40–$200 for a single will, more for a couple’s package
• A lawyer: roughly $400–$800 for a basic will, more if your situation is complex
• Will kits from a bookstore: $20–$50, but I’d skip these unless you really know what you’re doing

For most people who rent, have one bank account, and no kids yet, an online will is more than enough. For families with property, businesses, blended families, or anything in multiple countries, pay the lawyer. It’s worth it.

Either way — we’re talking less than the cost of a phone. To protect the people you love most. That’s the whole math.

What to put in a will

You don’t need to write this from scratch. Any online service or lawyer will walk you through it. But here’s what they’ll ask:

• Your executor — the person who handles everything when you’re gone. Pick someone responsible, organized, and ideally living in Canada
• Your beneficiaries — who gets what. Be specific. “My TD chequing account to my wife, my car to my brother”
• Guardians for your children — if you have young kids, name a primary and a backup
• Any specific gifts — a watch to a friend, jewelry to a daughter, a sum of money to a family member back home
• Funeral wishes — burial or cremation, Catholic mass, traditional ceremony, whatever matters to you
• Backup beneficiaries — what happens if your first choice has already passed away

Two other documents you should think about

A will is what happens after you’re gone. But there’s another situation our families don’t talk about enough: what happens if you’re still alive but can’t make decisions for yourself. A stroke. A serious accident. Late-stage illness.

For that, you need:

• Power of Attorney for Property — gives someone the legal right to handle your money and property if you can’t
• Power of Attorney for Personal Care (called different things in different provinces) — gives someone the legal right to make medical decisions for you

Most online will services bundle these together for one price. Get all three at once. It takes maybe an extra hour.

When to update it

A will isn’t a one-and-done thing. Life changes. The paper should too. Update yours when:

• You get married or divorced (in some provinces, marriage actually cancels an old will)
• You have a baby
• You buy a home or another major asset
• You move to a new province
• Someone in your will passes away — especially your executor or a beneficiary
• You sponsor a parent or family member to come to Canada

Even without a big event, take a look every 3–5 years. It’s a 10-minute review.

The conversation with our parents

This is the hardest part. In our culture, talking about death is considered bad luck. You don’t bring it up at dinner. You don’t mention it during the new year. Some of our parents genuinely believe that planning for death invites it.

I’m not going to pretend that conversation is easy. It isn’t.

But here’s a way in that has worked for a lot of families I know. Don’t frame it as “Mom, what happens when you die?” Frame it as “I want to make sure your wishes are respected. I want to know what you want, so we can honour it.”

That’s a different conversation. That’s a conversation about respect, not about death. And in our families, respect is a language everyone speaks.

You might also share that you’re doing your own will first. Lead by example. “I just made mine. I want to know what you’d want too.” That removes the awkwardness of singling them out.

One last thing

Losing a parent is one of the most painful things a person will ever experience. I know this firsthand. Losing one when nothing is written down — when the bank accounts are frozen, when the paperwork is in three languages, when family members start arguing about what Mom or Dad would have wanted — makes that pain so much heavier.

With proper guidance, your family doesn’t have to go through it the way many of ours did.

Make the will. Update it when life changes. Tell someone you trust where to find it.

It’s one of the most loving things you can do for the people you’ll leave behind.