What to Include in Your Wil

Whether you’re 25 or 75, it’s never too early or too late to make a will. A will can be tailored to your needs, no matter your age or financial situation. You can include your digital property, instructions for your funeral, and choose someone to care for your children under 18. Keep reading to learn more about what to put in a will.

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This article in short:

A will allows you to choose who will inherit your money and other property after your death.
You can adapt your will to your situation by adding other types of wishes. For example, you can name someone to care for your children under 18.
Generally, if the wishes in your will are possible and legal, they must be followed.
If you forget to include property in your will, or if you don’t make a will, Quebec law decides who will inherit from you.

Choosing who will inherit your property

In your will, you can decide who will get your money and other property after your death. You can choose your heirs and any “legatees by particular title” (people you leave specific things to), and also decide how to divide your property.

Your heirs

You can leave all your property to one person or divide it among several people. These people will be your heirs. If you leave your property to multiple people, you can decide who gets how much in your will.

For example, you could leave everything to your sister. Or you could leave 75% to your child and 25% to your spouse or partner.

You can also leave property to an organization.

Your legatees by particular title

You can also choose to leave specific property to one or more people. These people will be your legatees by particular title.

For example, you can leave all your jewelry to your two kids, your car to your sister, and your cottage to your spouse or partner.

Can you leave property to someone under 18?

Yes, you can leave money or other property to someone under 18, for example, your child, niece or nephew. But special rules apply when someone under 18 inherits property of significant value.

When a person under 18 has money and other property worth over $40,000 in total, their parents or guardians (officially called “tutors”) must follow administrative and reporting requirements.

For more information, contact the Curateur public (Quebec’s public curator).

A will tailored to your situation

A will is not just for leaving property to others. You can adapt your will to your situation by adding other wishes.

Someone to manage your estate

In your will, you can name an executor (officially called a liquidator), define the liquidator’s powers, and set their compensation. This person will settle your affairs after your death. For example, they must do an inventory of your property and pay your final taxes and debts.

You can also name an alternate liquidator in case this person refuses to do it or is unavailable.

Someone to care for your children

You can choose a guardian (officially called “tutor”) to care for your children under 18 in case you and the other parent die.

This person will also manage your children’s inheritance and follow related legal requirements. It’s possible to choose two guardians: one to care for your children under 18, and another to manage their inheritance.

You can also pick alternate guardian in case someone refuses to do it or dies before you.

Your funeral

Your will can include wishes for your funeral. For example, you can decide whether you want these things:

a religious service or not,
an open casket,
to be cremated or buried.

Your loved ones might not see your will immediately after your death. Consider sharing your wishes with them ahead of time to be sure they’re followed.

Did you know?

You can plan your funeral in advance through a pre-arranged funeral contract. You sign this contract directly with a funeral services company. For more information, read our article on pre-arranged funeral contracts.

Your digital property

Digital property includes photos saved in cloud storage, subscriptions to streaming platforms for movies, tv and music, and social media accounts.

You can decide what will happen to this property after your death. For example, you can choose to delete your Facebook, Instagram, Apple or Google accounts.

You can also pick someone to manage these accounts after your death. Some platforms let you choose a person to manage your data or public-facing information after your death.

To make things easier for your loved ones, you can also name someone in your will to manage your digital property after your death. You can attach a list of your digital property, including login information for each account, and your wishes for each type of digital property.

Reducing taxes

A will can help reduce the taxes your estate will have to pay. The provincial and federal governments consider your property to be sold to your estate on the day you die.

But there are several ways to lower taxes for your estate. Here are examples:

give property to your loved ones before your death,
leave property to registered charities.

For more information, read our article on reducing or postponing taxes for your estate.

Things you can’t put in your will

Generally, if the wishes in your will are possible and legal, they must be followed. If your wishes break the law, they may not be respected.

Here are examples of wishes that may be impossible to follow:

leaving someone property in a way that breaks the law (for example, leaving your son a house on the condition that he never remarries),
leaving someone property that no longer belongs to you (for example, a cottage that was sold before your death), or
forcing someone to accept property from your estate.

You also can’t leave property to these people:

the notary who prepared your will,
the witnesses who signed your will, or
a person who works or volunteers at a health and social services facility, shelter or residence if you were receiving care there when you wrote your will (for example, a nurse who cared for you).