Survey Reveals Quirky Will Inheritances and Highlights Challenges in Estate Planning

A treasure map, a vampire statue, and Paul Newman's toothbrush are among the quirky items that have been left in wills, according to a recent survey conducted by Danebury Research on behalf of legal technology firm Estatesearch. The survey, which sampled 2,000 Canadian residents, aimed to gain insights into estate planning and uncover the challenges involved in identifying the full extent of a person's assets.

Jonathan Upton, Director at Estatesearch, commented on the findings: "While these unorthodox items may leave beneficiaries and Paul Newman fans intrigued, our aim is to help eliminate any surprises when it comes to the financial assets of an estate. Having just launched our Financial Profile Service in Canada, we initiated this survey to understand the asset discovery challenges that lawyers face."

Beyond the quirky inheritances, the survey revealed significant issues in locating essential financial assets. For instance, 29% of respondents reported difficulties in locating or not knowing the whereabouts of their workplace pensions, with the highest percentage in Quebec (30%) and the lowest in Alberta (19%). Additionally, 26% of people had not, or were unsure if they had informed their next of kin about their life insurance policies, with Alberta again topping the list at 35% and Ontario at the bottom with 24%.

The survey also highlighted that only 51% of respondents have a will, and of those, 20% said it needs updating. This gap in estate planning could lead to unaccounted assets, additional legal costs, tax recalculations, or even estate disputes and litigation. Furthermore, only 55% of those with a will engaged a lawyer to write it, and 28% of those who wrote their own will were unsure if it was properly witnessed.

Additional findings include:

• 21% can't easily locate or do not know the whereabouts of their registered savings and investment plans.
• 38% can't easily locate or do not know the whereabouts of shareholder certificates or bonds.
• 25% can't easily locate or do not know the whereabouts of life insurance policies.
• Residents of Quebec (55%) and British Columbia (54%) are most likely to have a will, while those in Alberta are least likely (44%).
• Younger people are less likely to have a will, with only 40% of 18-24 year olds having one compared to 57% of 55-64 year olds, and 76% of those over 65.
• Only 19% of 18-24 year olds have an up-to-date will, compared to 35% of 55-64 year olds and 53% of those over 65.
• Men are more likely to have a will (58%) compared to women (43%).
• 34% of respondents own digital assets, yet 51% had not considered or didn't know if they had considered digital assets in their estate planning.

Upton emphasized the real challenges families and executors face in identifying and locating assets and wills of the deceased. Research shows approximately 1.8 million bank balances worth $678 million have gone unclaimed in Canada. Estatesearch aims to promote awareness of these issues within the financial industry and facilitate better compliance with legal regulations.

The results of this research will be used to educate and inform professionals in the estate industry about the challenges and available solutions for due diligence in identifying estate assets. For more information, visit https://www.estatesearch.ca.