Good Wills and Other
Important Conversations
Articles courtesy of the Edmonton Community Foundation
(Reprinted from their Late Edition, with permission)
A good will does many things
well. It not only identifi es who
is to receive gifts from your
estate (‘benefi ciaries’), what each
benefi ciary is to receive, and
when they receive their gifts (e.g.,
a trust so that children receive
their inheritance in stages), a
good will also allows guardians
to be chosen to love and care for
your children.
A good will appoints someone
(‘personal representative’)
to administer your estate.
‘Administering’ includes (but
is not limited to) fi nding,
protecting, and documenting
what you own, fi ling the
necessary court documents and
tax returns, paying your debts
and taxes, handling disputes
that may arise, keeping your
benefi ciaries updated, and
distributing your estate in
accordance with your wishes as
outlined in your will and any laws
that may aff ect those wishes.
End of life care and living
decisions have no place in a
will. These wishes are best set
out in what is called a ‘personal
directive’ that appoints someone
to be your agent, to speak and
act on your behalf in making
personal decisions like where you
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will live and the types of care you
wish and do not wish to receive.
A personal directive is diff erent
from an ‘enduring power of
attorney,’ which appoints
someone to handle fi nancial
transactions when you are not
able to, either temporarily or
permanently. Both of these
documents are great living
gifts to loved ones because they
avoid the costs and delays in
obtaining the court orders that
are necessary if these documents
do not exist.
It is likely not possible for a
written document to contemplate
all possible scenarios and
decisions that may need to be
made about your care and living
circumstances. This is one of the
areas where it is really important
to have a conversation about
your wishes and values with
those who might have to make
these decisions.
A will is also not the best
place to state your burial and
funeral wishes. A will is often
not looked at until both the