What Are the 7 Things to Prepare Before Making a Will?

Before making or reviewing a will, organize the people, property, documents, and wishes you want to discuss. This will preparation checklist can make a consultation more focused, but it does not replace individualized legal advice or legal drafting.

1. Record Your Personal and Family Details

Begin with a clear relationship list. Include your spouse or partner, children, other dependants, and anyone whose relationship to you may be relevant to your estate planning. Record full names, contact information, and details that will help the lawyer understand your family structure.

Be ready to discuss changes such as marriage, separation, divorce, adoption, remarriage, or a blended-family situation. These circumstances may require careful, fact-specific advice. Do not omit an uncomfortable or complicated fact because you are unsure whether it matters.

Preparation action: Create a one-page family summary and mark every relationship, dependency, or family concern you want to explain at the appointment.

2. Consider Your Executor and Alternate Executor

An executor is the person you are considering to administer your estate. Look beyond family expectations when evaluating a potential choice. Consider reliability, organization, willingness to accept responsibility, communication skills, location, and availability.

Identify an alternate as well. Your first choice may be unable or unwilling to act when needed, so having another person in mind gives you a useful starting point for discussion with your lawyer.

Preparation action: Write down your preferred executor, alternate, and the reasons each person seems suitable. If you have not asked whether they are willing, add that conversation to your list. Ask the lawyer how the proposed appointments should be documented in your circumstances.

3. List Intended Beneficiaries

Identify the people or organizations you want to benefit from your estate. For each person, record their full name, relationship to you, and current contact information. For a charitable gift or organization, note its correct name and any available identifying details.

Also record circumstances that may need explanation, such as a beneficiary who is a minor, someone who may need additional support, or a family member you intend to treat differently from others. You do not need to solve the legal wording yourself. Make your intentions and questions visible so they can be discussed properly.

Preparation action: Prepare a draft beneficiary list and identify each uncertain or sensitive decision. Bring those questions to the lawyer rather than relying on a generic form.

4. Inventory Your Assets and Liabilities

Prepare an inventory of what you own and what you owe. Depending on your circumstances, include:

• Real estate and related ownership information
• Bank, savings, and investment accounts
• Insurance policies and registered or other financial accounts
• Business interests, shares, partnership interests, and corporate agreements
• Vehicles, valuable personal property, jewellery, and collections
• Digital accounts or other property that may need to be identified
• Mortgages, loans, credit balances, guarantees, and other obligations

Perfect valuations are not necessary for an initial conversation. Record approximate information, how each asset is owned, and where supporting documents are kept. Ownership arrangements and the nature of an asset can affect how it fits into an estate plan, so avoid assuming every item will be handled the same way.

If real estate is part of your planning, organizing property documents can be especially helpful. For related property-law context, review residential conveyancing in Toronto or the land transfer tax information for Toronto homebuyers.

Preparation action: Make a table with four columns: asset or debt, approximate value or balance, ownership details, and document location.

5. Think Through Dependants and Guardianship Considerations

List children and other dependants, along with their ages, care needs, living arrangements, and important support information. Note who is currently involved in their care and which practical details a lawyer may need to understand your family situation.

If you are considering guardianship or future care arrangements, identify people you trust and the concerns you want to discuss. A dependant’s age, circumstances, relationship to you, and support needs can make these questions highly fact-specific. Your goal is to provide context, not to settle the legal answer on your own.

Preparation action: Write a short care-and-support summary for each dependant, including important routines, needs, caregivers, and questions about how your wishes should be addressed.

6. Note Specific Gifts and Personal Wishes

Some people have particular items, amounts, charitable intentions, or personal belongings they want to discuss. List each meaningful gift and identify the intended recipient. Describe physical items clearly enough to distinguish them from similar property.

You may also have broader wishes about how your estate should be handled or how certain family circumstances should be understood. Write down the reasons behind important decisions if that context will help you explain them during the consultation.

Do not assume that a handwritten list, informal note, or conversation automatically expresses your wishes in the way you intend. These materials can help you prepare, but your lawyer should explain how your instructions should be reviewed and expressed in the legal document.

Preparation action: Separate your notes into specific gifts, charitable or financial intentions, and personal context. Mark which points are firm priorities and which remain open for discussion.

7. Gather Documents and Questions for the Lawyer

Bring materials that help the lawyer understand your situation. These may include identification, an existing will, previous estate documents, property records, account or insurance information, business documents, debt details, and your beneficiary and dependant notes.

Prepare questions in advance. You might ask how a proposed executor should be documented, how ownership arrangements should be considered, what information is missing, or whether other estate-planning documents should be discussed.

Organized documents can make the conversation more efficient, but they do not determine the advice you will receive. Be open about uncertainty, family changes, undocumented assets, and any previous will or estate-planning document that may be relevant.

Preparation action: Create one paper or digital appointment folder containing your notes, documents, contact details, and questions. Add a page titled “What I am unsure about” so difficult issues are not forgotten.

What to Bring to the Will Appointment

After working through the seven priorities, consolidate the most useful information into an appointment-ready package:

• Personal identification and current contact information
• Family and dependant details, including relevant changes or concerns
• Proposed executor and alternate executor information
• Beneficiary list and notes about sensitive circumstances
• Asset, liability, ownership, and document-location records
• Existing wills, powers of attorney, trusts, or other estate documents
• Questions about your wishes, family situation, and property

If you cannot gather everything before the appointment, do not assume you must postpone the conversation. Bring what you have and clearly identify what is missing or uncertain.

Conclusion: Use the Checklist to Start a Focused Estate-Planning Conversation

A useful will preparation checklist covers more than names and signatures. It helps organize family relationships, executor choices, beneficiaries, assets, liabilities, dependants, specific gifts, and questions. Completing these steps can show you what you know, what you still need to find, and which decisions require professional discussion.

You may be ready to arrange a consultation once you have a reasonably clear relationship list, an initial asset inventory, proposed beneficiaries, and a record of your main concerns. You do not need to resolve every legal or family issue before seeking advice. Identifying uncertainty is an important part of preparing well.

Vikram Sharma Law Professional Corporation provides will preparation and estate-planning services and offers free consultations at 23 Westmore Dr Unit# 218A 2ND Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9V 3Y7. Contact the office to discuss your will preparation needs.