Where There’s a Will There’s a Way: Canadian Perspectives on Estate Planning

May 17, 2023
By: Natalie Iciaszczyk, Dr. Samir Sinha

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The vast majority of Canadians believe it’s important to prepare a will or appoint a power of attorney to manage their affairs if they die or become incapacitated, but less than half of them have actually done so — and many of them don’t even know where to start. A new report by the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) in collaboration with RBC Royal Trust finds that only 48 per cent of Canadians have a will; that number drops to 34 per cent for those aged 35-54. The report, titled Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way: Exploring Canadian Perspectives on Estate Planning, looks at how well Canadians understand the importance of estate planning, whether they have taken steps to create an estate plan, and what’s stopping them from doing so if they haven’t already. It is based on a survey of 2,001 Canadians conducted by Ipsos in April 2022.