Important Conversations: Talking about Wills (and Willful)

Even before becoming a parent, I felt like adulthood was this strange mix of independence and heavy decision-making and conversations that you weren’t really privy to as a child.

Then you become an adult, and everyone wants to chat about things like your retirement plans, savings accounts, insurance needs and wills.

Most of these discussions have the same effect on me – I tend to clam up a little, my heart rate elevates, and, sometimes, I simply try to push off the conversations. It’s not the best approach, but I’m certainly not alone.

Just because the conversations are difficult doesn’t mean we don’t have them – we have to.

That’s why when Willful reached out to me and we started chatting about Andy and I trying out their service and sharing it with readers, I knew it was going to be a great fit.

I really appreciated knowing how quickly and easily we’d be able to set up our will with Willful.

While we already had a will, it had been created years ago and was in need of a review and update.

In truth, I sent the Willful information to Andy and asked his advice. He loved it. The system was easy to use, it reminded him of other online services like WealthSimple (with whom we are also customers) and he was able set up our new wills within minutes. In fact, his response to me was “even you’ll like it – it’s so easy” – I’m usually the one who resists dealing with these kinds of things.

Why Willful?

Willful makes will creation easy and affordable.

Those are two huge barriers for most families and I know it was a concern for us when we were first thinking about wills.

The other aspect? It brings peace of mind knowing things will be looked after the way that you have intended.

That feels like a huge weight lifted. As parents, we don’t need more things to worry about – we have enough already, right?

The convenience of being able to set up your will online using a clear, step-by-step system takes a lot of the stress out of preparing a will.

Willful’s service has been developed in collaboration with estate lawyers and they have plans starting at $99.

It doesn’t hurt that this is a Canadian success story, too, which I love. Willful is based in Toronto and is currently available for those living in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and here in Ontario.

The Willful website contains a lot of great information about the importance of having a will. There are also answers to many of the questions you may have about creating a will and information on keeping your will up-to-date when you have a major life event.

If you sign up for their newsletter you can get a checklist to help make preparing your will even easier.

Will and estate planning can feel overwhelming, but I’ve learned that it doesn’t have to be. And as parents, we know we need to have a will to protect our loved ones. But I also understand the hesitation.

That is why I think you’ll want to check out Willful. Their process makes creating a will very convenient and affordable. When Andy set up our account, I quickly came to realize how easy it was to create a will with Wilful.

If you are interested in learning more about setting up your will or power of attorney documents (or making changes to one), visit the Willful website to see the various plans they offer and get your questions answered.

I hope you are able to try Willful and see how they can help make this important step in planning for the future a little bit easier to handle thanks to their convenient online system, resources and affordable rates.

I like having adult conversations about things live travel planning, favourite foods and family goals. But I also know the importance of having a will and I’m thankful that Willful offers an easy and affordable way for more parents to get started.