People often ask us this loaded question: What is the value of registering a document?

Trust. Our estate and incapacity plans are entirely dependant on trust. We have to trust that in situations where we cannot express our wishes, beliefs or instructions – they will be followed. The time that you are incapable of making decisions or the time of your death are difficult situations for a person to turn their mind to. But with the passage of time, more Canadians understand the costs/difficulties that can arise if these critical points in time are not planned for.

Oxford dictionary tells us that trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something. But the real question is how do you create trust in the context of these difficult estate or incapacity situations?

Here are 3 thoughts to challenge the “trusting foundations” that your estate/incapacity plan is built on during Make a Will & POA Month:

1. Equal access to information. This does not mean everyone should know the contents of the information; instead, how will your network know where the contents are located at the appropriate time?
2. Storage entity. Situations where the document is stored in a person’s private residence can create opportunities for it to be lost. How will your estate/incapacity plan manage various private storage locations over the years?
3. When to Access Substitute Decision Making Documents. It is straightforward for your network to determine when the Will should be accessed, but planning for incapacity often requires clear expectations around incapacity. Setting an incapacity monitoring system is essential to protect you from being taken advantage of. Remember, you cannot detect your own incapacity, so you will rely on your network to protect your interests in this way.  How does your network have the tools to identify this point in time?

Registering your documents with poaRegistry.ca or our partners who register Wills, helps your network build trust during these confusing situations.

If you currently storing or using these documents, reach out to see how we can earn your to enhance your estate/incapacity planning offering.