Benjamin was in genuinely good shape on savings and investment. But he had no Will, which meant his assets would be distributed under the Intestate Succession Act, to parents and siblings in proportions he had never considered. He had no LPA, which meant if he was incapacitated in an accident, nobody had authority to manage his affairs. His shield plan had not been reviewed since his employer set it up. And his parents, whom he was close to, had no documents of their own.
What we didWe did not oversell the urgency. We simply showed him what the default outcomes looked like versus what his actual preferences were, and let him decide. We drafted a Will that reflected his intentions. We set up an LPA. We identified one coverage gap worth addressing. We also gave him a framework for having the conversation with his parents about their own planning.
Where he is nowBenjamin was in and out in two sessions. He told us afterwards that he had expected a sales pitch and got a planning conversation instead. He has since brought his parents in.
Estate planning is not about having a lot to protect. It is about having intentions worth recording.
Your situation
If you are younger and wondering whether any of this applies to you, one conversation is usually enough to find out.
Worth a conversation