Writing a holographic will

[yearofluigi]

One of the last few things I need to do before I can die is write a will and I'm getting kind of hung up on that. I can't get any sort of legal advice or witnesses without raising suspicion, so I'm going to have to make a holographic will. Luckily, I have a pretty simple situation: single, no dependents, just want to leave all my stuff to my parents. I'm just not sure how I should go about writing my will, but I think I basically have two options:

• Option 1: Keep it simple, leave as little room for interpretation as possible. Something like Cecil George Harris's will. His entire will was "In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife," and it was recognized as legally valid, so maybe I can do something similar.
• Option 2: Use a will kit to generate a more thorough will and then copy it to paper by hand. This might be more effective than a simple will since it covers details like naming an executor and specifying what I want to have done with my body, but I'm afraid that I (or the will kit) will make some sort of mistake that leaves the whole thing invalid.

Can anyone with knowledge about wills give any thoughts or advice? I understand that nothing we talk about here is actual legal advice, just looking for some guidance <3

 

[_Gollum_]

I made a holographic will and listed out:

1. Where my money is stored (chequings account, TFSA, etc.) as well as my group insurance (which comes with life insurance)
2. How to distribute my money amongst my family (using percentages)

Then signed it and dated it.

 

[yearofluigi]

I made a holographic will and listed out:

1. Where my money is stored (chequings account, TFSA, etc.) as well as my group insurance (which comes with life insurance)
2. How to distribute my money amongst my family (using percentages)

Then signed it and dated it.

I hadn't thought of including details about bank accounts and insurance but that makes sense, thanks. I'll probably include something similar.

Can you share any part of your will here? Just so I can have a specific example of how those things are phrased. No worries if you don't want to share though.

 

[ham and potatoes]

single, no dependents, just want to leave all my stuff to my parents

I mean, by default, being single and without kids, shouldn't all of your stuff should go to your parents regardless?

 

[zardofan]

I have also just been learning about this. I strongly suggest doing some basic research using your fave search engine. Nothing crazy but important to learn the specifics in your locality. I'm in US. Here, Will validity is determined by state. For example, only about 1/2 of US states accept holographic wills. And the details can vary. So what I did was search my state name and will validity and found my way to the published laws of my state and it wasn't too hard.

Also keep in mind (again, this is coming from a US person) that your listed beneficiaries on accounts like IRAs or life insurance determine where those go, not a will. If you don't list a beneficiary, it still doesn't get decided by your will. Each company has their own fine print about how they do it.

You may already know, but life insurance often doesn't pay out if death certificate says suicide.

Also makes sense to learn your location's process for dying without a will. As someone already mentioned, it often goes children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, and then more extended relatives.

Never thought I'd have learned quite this level of detail, but its been on the way to the bus stop!

 

[_Gollum_]

You may already know, but life insurance often doesn't pay out if death certificate says suicide.

It depends on your exact policy. Mine, for example, pays out for suicide if it occurred 1 year after the insurance came into effect.

I hadn't thought of including details about bank accounts and insurance but that makes sense, thanks. I'll probably include something similar.

Can you share any part of your will here? Just so I can have a specific example of how those things are phrased. No worries if you don't want to share though.

I mean there isn't really anything to it, it's just "This is what I own." I honestly doubt it was even necessary for me to add, I just did it out of an abundance of caution.

 

[yearofluigi]

I mean, by default, being single and without kids, shouldn't all of your stuff should go to your parents regardless?

All my stuff would go to them eventually, but it would be a lot more complicated, as my parents would have to apply to the court to get permission to manage my estate and plan my funeral. The end result would be the same either way but I want to save them the legal headache.

I have also just been learning about this. I strongly suggest doing some basic research using your fave search engine. Nothing crazy but important to learn the specifics in your locality. I'm in US. Here, Will validity is determined by state. For example, only about 1/2 of US states accept holographic wills. And the details can vary. So what I did was search my state name and will validity and found my way to the published laws of my state and it wasn't too hard.

Also keep in mind (again, this is coming from a US person) that your listed beneficiaries on accounts like IRAs or life insurance determine where those go, not a will. If you don't list a beneficiary, it still doesn't get decided by your will. Each company has their own fine print about how they do it.

You may already know, but life insurance often doesn't pay out if death certificate says suicide.

Also makes sense to learn your location's process for dying without a will. As someone already mentioned, it often goes children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, and then more extended relatives.

Never thought I'd have learned quite this level of detail, but its been on the way to the bus stop!

Thanks for all that info! I've verified that holographic wills are accepted in my province (I'm in Canada) and that my stuff would go to my parents if I die without a will. Good point regarding the beneficiaries listed on accounts as well. I think I remember naming my parents as beneficiaries for all my important accounts, but I'm going to double-check and then figure out which account(s) I should mention in my will. And yeah lol I wasn't expecting to learn this much either.

I mean there isn't really anything to it, it's just "This is what I own." I honestly doubt it was even necessary for me to add, I just did it out of an abundance of caution.

Oh yeah, fair enough. I'm probably overthinking the exact phrasing.