I want to wish everybody reading my blog a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2008.  What I also hope is that each of you has a will and that it is up to date. There are so many horror stories of people who for a variety of reasons, die without documenting their wishes. This leaves the family in a horrifying situation.  Here are a few examples I recently heard about:

1. A 90 year old man suddenly went into a coma without a will. Not only was he a lawyer who should have known better, but he had a 19 year old daughter who was left without any financial resources. She has had to quit university and take a job in order to support herself until this mess has been cleared up.

2. A loving father, grandfather and well-respected psychologist, died with a very out-of-date will, 3 children living in different provinces, and a nightmare of American and Canadian investments. It took 2 of the siblings many months to sort out the finances and close all of his accounts in 2 countries. One of the daughter’s in-law told me her husband was unable to go through a grieving process for the father he dearly loved, because of the anger and frustration resulting from spending a year in needless estate administration.

So, please do not let this happen to your family!!