How to Ensure a Safe and Secure Will in Ontario PART 2


Read part 1 of this post. I describe common dangerous wills you should avoid. This post continues with 3 more examples of dangerous wills.

  1. Living Wills Are Not Wills

Living wills are not wills at all. They may not have two witnesses like Ontario wills. They don’t deal with your assets or name executors and beneficiaries.

Living wills deal with medical and health-care issues. They are not about giving away your money after you are gone.

Living wills are intended to be read before you die, not after. They deal with treatment wishes and not financial matters like wills. Don’t confuse them with wills. Wills are only effective after you die and appoint executors for your estate. Will executors handle your estate assets and pay your debts before distributing all your stuff.

  1. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Wills Create More Problems

Wills are legal documents that must comply with Ontario’s formal legal requirements. One small mistake can force everyone to visit courthouses to ask judges to approve the will. Everyone asks judges to fix or explain your handy work. Your estate usually pays for everyone’s legal costs to interpret your homemade will. This leaves less money for beneficiaries and more money spent on lawyers.

Online or paper will kits come with disclaimers. No one guarantees that what you do with DIY will kits is legal. Most will kits use general wording. They don’t consider necessary local differences and are not specific enough. These can lead to interpretation issues dragging everyone into court to ask judges what your will means.

Most people have trouble properly filling out forms. Your mistakes may not be discovered until it is too late. Some mistakes cannot be fixed. Your money can be wasted by do-it-yourself wills. People believe DIY wills are better than nothing. Well, in my experience DIY wills make lawyers more money.

Some will kits are sold as fill-in-the-blank forms. Promotors claim you don’t need to use lawyers. These forms were filled with disclaimers. Will your family hold these promotors liable for any mistakes you made years later?

Who does your family sue if there are mistakes? Online websites and forms create similar problems. Everyone thinks, “why bother with lawyers if the law doesn’t require them?” I do have a bias as a lawyer; it’s true. But I also advise people who need to fix DIY wills by going to court. When it comes to making wills, trying to save money may be a costly mistake.

  1. Online Will Services

These may be appropriate for simple estates. However, they cannot deal with everyone’s needs. People need legal advice that online providers cannot offer. They may give you options but cannot provide confidential legal advice that is independent.

If estate and income tax issues are important to you, you should speak with a lawyer. If you are stuck not knowing what you legally owe a partner or spouse, you need legal advice. Online services cannot provide this.

If you own a business, you may need multiple wills, a buy-sell agreement or a marriage contract to protect your loved ones. Online service providers must refer you to a lawyer. AI or Google cannot give you the legal advice you need.

Without a solid estate plan, your money can be wasted by paying unnecessary taxes, years of delay and legal costs. I can help you make your will. Contact me for a meeting.

I am a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law.

Posted In: Estates, Wills  On: June 10th, 2025