Do you need a lawyer to create a Will or estate plan?

If you know me, you know that I don't push the "you-need-a-lawyer-for-everything" approach. While some things in life do indeed require a lawyer, some do not. Typically, estate planning isn't an area of law that requires the use of a lawyer. This post is for the readers who are thinking about themselves and their estates in some shape or form, and who are really not sure if they should hire me to do their estate plans, or any other lawyer for that matter.

The intent of my article is to share this newspaper article published in the Globe and Mail which compares, outlines and summarizes why (or whether) professional help is warranted in some estate planning situations: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-how-to-create-a-legal-will-in-canada

Lawyers are professional service providers, and we're in the business of providing professional services to our clients. We help people who want our help. Our clients often want to be sure things are done right for their estate matters, just as those clients might hire out for an accountant, realtor, financial advisor, hair dresser, graphic designer, mechanic or other contractors and service providers.

Sometimes, it’s not about whether you can do it yourself but about whether you want to, or whether it’s worth the peace of mind to you to delegate the task.

So, just as we could research personal tax credits ourselves, list our homes for sale by owner, cut and colour our own hair, grow our own food, wash our windows, change our seasonal tires, paint our walls, diagnose our issues with Google, sometimes, there's preference for working with someone who performs that service each day. Your typical estate planning services can be seen in much the same way.

Fair warning: If you choose to do it yourself either through a holograph will, online wills website or will kit, you're still required to follow the applicable law and do it correctly.

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This information is intended to be general only. This isn’t legal advice. Reading or responding to it in any shape or form doesn’t create a solicitor-client relationship. External links are for your ease of reference only and not endorsements.