So let's dispense with the idea that home-made wills are any sort of money-saver. Though not every home-made will is a disaster, most are worse - MUCH worse - than people realize.
I'm going to give you an example based on a recent case from Alberta. In 1995, William Kirst made his own handwritten will. In 2010 he passed away. The fight over his will began shortly thereafter, and did not end until March of 2022. Yes, that means 12 years of fighting in court, including 7 years' worth of Case Management. It involved 17 court orders made by both the Queen's Bench and the Court of Appeal.
And what were they fighting over? Just a house.
The problem was that in the will, Mr. Kirst left his estate to his children but said that one son could live in the house "for awhile". Those two innocent-seeming words doomed his family to years of fighting. Any lawyer worth her salt would know that an undefined term like that would cause a problem.
It seems pretty likely to me that after 12 years, the legal fees amounted to more than the value of the house. I expect that family relationships are damaged beyond repair, as well. Paying a few hundred dollars for a will must, in retrospect, look like quite a good deal.
If anyone would like to read the Kirst case in its entirety, click here.
ReplyDeleteLynne,
12 years, that is is nothing! Mine has been going on for 18 years. No bragging rights here. The big difference is that I have retained legal services. I do understand that my case is not the norm.
I might add that things appear to be moving along (actually yesterday) and there should an update as to the status of the Estate in the coming weeks. The overall cost will be high, but one huge benefit is that Real Estate has gone up considerably. I will be making money in various ways. 1) Property 2) Occupancy Rent 2) Chattel Rent 3) Interest on Estate Funds held illegally by my sibling. My sibling who could have gained possession of the property in 2004 but created a needless problem. Greed.
My sibling had a good deal but screwed it up. It has been enormously stressful, time consuming etc. Our relationship is beyond repair. I could write a small book as to what happened, but I am exhausted.
Webeye