Most Canadians have yet to create a proper estate plan, including a will and power of attorney, according to a survey released by Toronto-based Bank of Nova Scotia on Friday.
Survey results show that 50% of Canadians have a will but only 33% have a power of attorney for property. Furthermore, of those people who do have a will, 46% have yet to talk to their families about its contents.
Sixty-four percent of people say they simply haven’t thought about starting a conversation with their families about their wills. Another 17% feel that wills are a private matter while 11% of survey participants believe it’s too soon to talk about their wills with family members.
Whatever reasons clients have for procrastinating, Scotia executives believe its time for clients to stop making excuses and start talking openly about their wishes regarding their estates. “There can be good reasons [for clients] to talk to [their] family about [their] estate plan,” says Paul Fensom, director of Scotiatrust, estate and trust services, “as it could reduce the chance of family friction or worse, expensive litigation.”
The top reasons Canadians gave for not having a will were not having enough assets to justify making a will (29%) and not knowing where to start (24%). Another 23% of survey participants simply feel they are too young have a will.
Unsurprising, survey results show that older Canadians, those 55 and older, were more likely to have a will. Eighty-six percent of participants in that age range reported having a will compared with 50% of people 45 to 54 years of age.
Study results were compiled by Nielsen (formerly Harris/Decima) from a total of 1,029 online surveys completed between November 12, 2013, and November 27, 2013.