Coming to see us to make your Will, Power of Attorney or other estate planning documents? Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for your appointment.
Bring your ID
Bring two pieces of current, government-issued ID, one with a photo of you on it to your Wills appointment. Common examples of acceptable ID include:
- a driver’s licence
- a passport
- an appropriate health services card
- an ID card
- a NEXUS card
- a firearms licence
Make a list of your family members
Bring us a list of the following information for your spouse and children to your Wills appointment:
- full legal names
- dates of birth
- current address for those you want to act as executor or attorney
Bring a list of your assets and liabilities
This list doesn’t have to be extensive, but helps us determine the kinds of things to include in your documents. It helps if you can give us approximate values for these items. Your list could include:
- addresses for any homes you own an interest in
- a list of your bank accounts and other investments
- information on special things such as valuable art work or gold coins
- pets
- a list of credit cards
- whether you have given loans to others
- information about people you have to legally financially support (children, ex-spouses)
Think about who should be Executor of your Will, or your Attorney
Who would you like to help you manage your estate? Who would you want to be your attorney under a Power of Attorney, or your Representative under a Representation Agreement?
Do you want one person to do it by themselves, or two people to do it together?
Bring their full legal name and address to your Wills appointment.
Don’t bring unnecessary people
We really only want to see you (and your spouse, if you are doing this with a spouse).
We need to make sure no one is coercing you, or unduly influencing you. While we’re happy to explain simple estate planning concepts to your family members, we will ask them to sit in the lobby while we talk to you by yourself.
We do this to protect you, but also to protect your family members. We don’t want someone claiming the daughter who brought you to your appointment forced you into doing something you don’t want to do.
Prepare for two appointments
It usually takes two appointments to make estate planning documents.
The first appointment is to go through the documents with you, answer any questions you might have about how all of this works, and take your instructions. We are checking to make sure you are not being unduly influenced, coerced, and that you understand what you are trying to do.
The second appointment happens about two weeks after the first one. This appointment is to review the documents we make for you, and make sure they do what you want and need. If they are acceptable, we will take your signatures on the documents at this meeting.
What happens if you don’t know what you want to do in your Will?
That’s okay. We’re happy to help you talk through your options.
We bill for additional time over and above our usual two meetings at our hourly rate.
Think about where you would like to keep your Will when you’re done.
When we’re done, we will give you your original documents, and a set of copies of them. Please make sure to keep the original documents safe. You might want to let your executor know where these original documents are.
We don’t usually recommend sharing these documents with others.
If you are going to keep your original documents in a safety deposit box, make sure you check with the bank about the bank’s requirements to let your Executor or Attorney into the safety deposit box to retrieve these documents.
Have Questions?
Contact us for more information. You can also book a consultation appointment at our hourly rate if you aren’t sure whether you want to proceed.
The BC Government also has some additional information about estate planning documents if you wish to read up more before your appointment.