Do you have a will? Until tonight I had never put pen to paper o prepare a will. I guess it more then overdue. Did you know here in Canada you can write your own? If you can put pen to paper then you can write your own.

This is what I am tackling this week. Why now? I am going to have surgery on Monday, and two weeks ago a friend of mine lost a friend who was my age when she went into the hospital for a simple day surgery like mine. She encouraged me as a single mother to have one.

Writing a will here in Canada is pretty simple. Now if you do have a more complex situation like debt that will have to be paid, or a house out of the country you will want to use legal counsel.  In most cases though this is something one can choose to handle on their own.

1. The most important thing, if you have kids decide who is getting them.  Decide on the legal guardianship of any dependents that you have. Even if you have already stated who you want raising your child put it in writing.

2.If you have items that you wish to leave to a certain person, then make an inventory with a very good description of the item ( so there can be no mistaking it). Write a list and who is to get what.

3.Name the executor(use their full name ) of your will and perhaps an alternate or two in case they have passed.

4.When you sign your will, you have to have 2 witnesses, so at the bottom of your will there will be 3 signatures, all dated.

5. Let someone know where you are keeping your will. Do keep it in a safe dry spot ( I suggest if you have a safe, this might be kept in there). Let your executor know where it is.

6. If things change update your will.

Now that I am prepared I have nothing to worry about going into my surgery next week. Now if things change like I get married of course I will want to update my will.

Source: http://commoncentsmom.com/2011/04/05/preparing-your-own-canadian-will/