With news of people dying from the coronavirus daily, it appears the ongoing pandemic has pushed many Canadians into estate planning.
According to recently released results from a survey of 531 people conducted by LegalWills.ca in February, 53 per cent said the pandemic influenced them to either write a will or update their existing one within the past 12 months.
The overwhelming majority, 79 per cent, of those who wrote a will were over the age of 50 while women, according to the survey, were more likely than men to either write a will one or update their existing one.
“We were all thrown for a loop when COVID-19 hit and I think the takeaway for a lot of Canadians was the need to be better prepared. April of 2020 was actually our busiest month in the company’s 20-year history. Estate planning shouldn’t be something that is done out of fear; it’s simply responsible planning.” said Tim Hewson, co-founder and CEO of LegalWills.ca.
The survey results also show that 28 per cent of participants who indicated they wrote a will, said they did so because the ongoing pandemic “made them realize” they to be better prepared.
Furthermore, 42 per cent of respondents said they also created financial Power of Attorney, a living will, with some opting to write final messages to be delivered to their loved ones once they died, while 21 per cent of those who wrote a will also include a charitable bequest while 11 per cent included a trust fund for care of their pets.
The company says the results reinforce the idea that most people are thinking about writing a will, but generally need a reason to do so.
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