Thoughts on a will

As I prepare to leave work and family for a spell and head off into the province on a motorcycle, it is quickly brought to my attention (gee, thanks Dark Souls…) that perhaps my Will requires updating.

A little grave digging (sorry…) pulls up the fact that Wills should be registered and submitted to the Wills Registry at BC Vital Statistics for a small fee ($17) and that the recently proposed Bill 21 is being amended for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to allow for electronic submission, signing and witnessing. Passing without a will leaves me with an estate that will get administered under Provincial Law, generally with higher costs and a forfeit of choosing guardianship for our children.

After choosing and Executor and laying out a bit of a plan for and with my potential survivors, I feel like a good investment might be a new helmet and front tire for the bike. A will crosses into a lot of Provincially regulated territory legally and I won’t bore you with those details but suffice to say, a will is relatively simple and there is good reason not to burden those that survive you with a bunch of avoidable complication.

Somewhere in the “fog of net”, I loosely remember coming across a figure that about half of all people die without a proper will and it gets me thinking: Is that number relevant in my home constituency of Oak Bay Gordon Head (OBGH)? Exactly how many citizens pass on from my community every year? What legacy do I want to leave in this space? A bench? A Park? A seasonal skating Rink on the reservoir atop Mt. Tolmie? It’s a good time, “make-a-will week” Starts the first of October so lets aim to get every OBGH citizen an up-to-date will by the end of the month

And please… Feed Jake (https://youtu.be/0FG8q_Zmg1U)

Ryan Gisler (rjgisler@hotmail.com)