2. Check if your financial situation has changed a lot

It’s a good idea to review your will to make sure it takes into account any big changes to your financial situation.

Your financial situation may have changed a lot since you made your will. For example, you might have:

• more property, if you inherited some money or have more savings or investments. You may now own property that isn’t included in your will.
• less property, if you’ve given gifts to people or organizations, or sold property. This means you may no longer own property that was included in your will and the beneficiary who was to get that property gets nothing.
• more debt, if you have another mortgage or line of credit. If you have more debt, your beneficiaries may get little or nothing after your estate pays the taxes and debt you owe.

Review the property and debts you now have. Your property includes:

• real property such as land, houses, or other buildings
• cash or money in bank accounts
• investments such as registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) or tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs)
• life insurance policies
• personal property such as:
  • cars or trucks
  • clothing
  • jewellery
  • all collections, for example, coin, cards, and art work
  • furniture and other household items
• online assets such as PayPal, eBay, and loyalty reward programs like Aeroplan miles
• pets

Your debts include things like income taxes you owe, mortgages, lines of credit, credit card payments, and car loans.