14 _ Terrace Review —— Wednesday, February 5, 1992

Do you have a valid will? |

‘Once it’s signed and put away in
a safety deposit box, you'll have |

It’s one of those things too
many of us are likely to put off,
worrying about the expense or
the bother. But neglecting to
make your will is potentially
serious for your family and
others you want to remember.

If fact, it’s not expensive and
it’s easy to prepare your will.

the satisfaction of knowing
you've done the right thing. And
you'll be sure your family will
be spared the kind of hassles
that can develop when someone
dies intestate (without a valid
will).

What happens if |

die without a will? |

(NC)—First of all, someone will have
to apply to be appointed Administra-
tor of your estate. The Administrator
is the person who will handle the work
of your estate, It is the Administrator's
job to deal with the assets, pay the
debts and distribute what is left.

The. adult members of your family
have, in turn, the right to apply to be
appointed Administrator. Your hus-
band or wife has the first right to ap-
ply, then your children, then your

dchildren, the other descendants,

en your parents, then grandparents,

then.brothers and sisters, and so on. If
your closest relatives are your children,
for example, all of your children would
have the right to be appointed as your
administrators and they would have to
work together. If anyone tums down
the right to apply, the next nearest
relative would be able to apply.

Sometimes there is disagreement
as to who should be appointed and the
court-has to step in and resolve the
conflict. .

There is a law in Ontario called the
Succession Law Reform Act which
determines who will benefit from your
estate if you die without a will. Your
spouse is entitled to the first $75,000
of the estate. Then if there are chil-
dren, your spouse and children share
what is lefti—the proportions depend

on how many children or other issue .

there are, If there are no children or
other issue, your spouse gets every-
thing. If you don’t

Do your h

Before you go to your notary’s

or lawyer’s office, it’s a good.

idea to do some homework. That
means assembling detaiis of all
your assets, plus locations and
numbers of all insurance infor-

mation and any support arrange- -

ments outstanding for cx-spouses
and children from previous mar-
riages. Helpful booklets are

available to show you what’s
necded.

You should also give some
thought to whom you wish to
name as your executor — the
person who makes sure your
intentions are carried out after
death.

eave a spouse, the- 1-800-668-8525.

THE LAW AND YOU
by Colin McKinnon
LL. B. QC.

estate goes first to your children or

other issue, then your brothers and sis-
ters if there are no parents, and so on.

Obviously, this can be quite a
hardship in some cases if the children
are quite young and the mother or fa-
ther really needs all the funds for day-

to-day living. Each child’s share will

be held in trust for him or her until he
or she is 18, with the parent having to
apply to the court anytime money is
needed for such things as education or
maintenance.

The Administrator has no right to
have the court hold the funds past the
time the child tums 18, even though
the. Administrator may feel that the
child is too young to receive the funds.

It’s clear, then, that in most cases
your survivors will have a much easier
time of it if you leave a will.

For more information about this
topic, contact the Law Society's Dial-
A-Law service and ask for tape #785
entitled, “Why Make a Will?”.
Toronto and area call 947-3333. From
area code 416 outside Metro Toronto
call toll-free 1-800-387-2920. From
Ottawa and the local 613 are call

233-5941, From area codes 519, 613,

705 call toll-free 1-800-387-2992.
From area code 807 call toll-free
spe tad

omework

Then, equipped with all the
information needed, your notary
or lawyer will be able to draw
up the actual will, listing your
bequests and specifying the
disposition of your estate. |

One last word: It is recom-
mended that you review your
will every three years or when-
ever your circumstances change.
For example, your net worth
may increase or you may change
your mind about a bequest.

Furthermore, if you marry or

remarry, you will is automati-
cally invalidated so that a new
one should be drawn up without
delay.

See the

-A major Canadian bank surveyed clients
purchasing RRSPs or in Registered company |
pension plans. The survey revealed that over

22% did not have a valid will.
| Do you?

Secure your family’s future

expert,

NOTARY PUBLIC ‘S#
: ; 4648 Lakelse Avenue, Terrace |

phone 638-1965
‘fax 638-1361

Metro |

~ securities,

Employee pension plans, or

BS RPPs (the "R" is for Registered),

| are an important source of

retirement income for about 40%

a of Canadians.

Most RPPs are defined-benefit

f plans, to which you and/or your

FIVE POWERFUL
REASONS
TO GETA

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NOW

*Save with confidence -
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DON'T DELAY. _
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Facing Tomorrow
Together

Frank Donahue
Skeana Mall
Terrace
phone 635-2387

Continuous

contributions

Rather than make one annual
contribution to your RRSP, why
not contribute smaller amounts
throughout the year?

Convenience through automatic
deductions from your account is
only one reason for setting up a

continuous contribution plan. A .
more important benefit is that’

youll get a head start on
accumulating more savings in
your RRSP.

For example, if you contribute
$3,000 at the end of each year to

an RRSP earning 10%, you'll

end up with about $295,000 after
25 years. But if you spread out

that contribution over 12 months .

(at $250 per month), you'll
accumulate $331,700
difference of nearly $37,000.

Non-cash
assets

If you have a self-directed
RRSP, you can contribute non-

cash assets, and receive a tax
‘deduction of their value at the

time of transfer. These can
include any RRSP-eligible
such as Canada
Savings Bonds, Canadian stocks
or debt instruments, so long as
their value does not exceed your

“RRSP contribution limit. Keep

in mind, too, that , securities
transferred to an RRSP are
considered to have been sold at
their current market value —
which may trigger taxable
capital gains.

employer contribute during your
years of service, and from which
you receive regular monthly
benefits upon retirement. The

7 amount of the benefit is usually
_ of based on a formula that includes
j your average salary and years of.

service with the company.

Still, there is no fixed rule as
J to how retirement benefits are

rol

|Company benefits... _

calculated. So two people with —
the same salary and years of
service can end up with very.
different levels of retirement
income — simply because they
worked for different employers. ~
What about you? If you belong
to an RPP, and if you haven’t
done so already, you should
make a point of asking your
personnel officer about the kind
of retirement benefits you can

expect from your plan. And

when you do, keep in mind that

‘ benefit amounts are often quoted -

with the value of CPP payments
included. _ OS

Must you file

a return anyway? _

| Are you required to file a
‘return even if you don’t have

any tax to pay? Probably yes,

1 says Revenue Canada, and

there’s quite a list of cir-

@ cumstances you might have

overlooked which mean you

7 must file. .
* You’re required to file a

return, for instance, if you
received a child tax credit in

| 1989; disposed of capital:
f property or had a taxable _
I: capital gain; if you must

| Tips for family food shoppers.

| Family food shopping is no longer, directly above or below the product.

the domain of veteran homemakers.

While 40 to 49-year-olds still domi-

nate supermarket aisles, recent sur-

veys show a steady invasion of teen-

agers crowding ‘deli counters and .

competing for produce.
To help consumers of all ages

- stretch their food dollars without

sacrificing quality, the following tips

are offered by Zip-Pak Incorporated,

manufacturers of ZIP-Pak resealable
packaging for food. ;

*Clip newspaper coupons: Look
for cents-off coupons and rebate
offers in the food section of daily
newspapers. Weekly specials are
regularly announced in newspapers
and supermarket circulars. —

*Reduce impulse buys: Plan a
week's worth of balanced meals

before shopping. Make a list of

essentials and stick to it!
Compare unit price: Compare

the cost of different brands and

package sizes by referring to the

unit price, item cost by weight or.
home may be a better buy than

volume. This price is posted on
labels on the edge of store shelves,

repay part of your family.al-

lowances or Old ‘Age Security. —

benefits; or if you must make
Canada Pension Plan con-
tributions because you

~ earned more than $2,700.

* You'll also have ‘to file a

return to claim a child tax
credit, refundable invest-
ment tax credit, provincial -
tax credit, or refund of over- .
payment of tax, CPP con-
tributions or UIC premiums. .

eCheck dates: Look for expiration
or last sale dates on perishables to
make sure you're buying the freshest
product available. Because many
marketers rotate their stock and push
older products towards shelf fronts,
particularly in the dairy case, select
a product from the back of the shelf.

eCheck packaging: Food storage
is just as important as preparation.
Select food items contained in con-
venient and protective packaging.
Unused portions of parishables such
as cereal, hot dogs, cheese and
potato chipa in resealable zippered
packaging are better protected from
spoilage.
«Make substitutions: In order to
stretch your financial and nutritional
budget be prepared to make subatitu-
tions. Frozen fruit’ and vegetables

_ may be less expensive than fresh —

produce during the winter months.
Certain grades and cuts of beef

(select, lean) may be lower in fat.

Bread, muffins and cookies baked at

commercially baked products.

~~ CS, Wilkinson

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

635-5307 |

Member of the Institute of |
Chartered Accountants of B.C. |

Providing Services in the following areas:

y~ Auditing
» Accounting

» Income Tax Consulting
- Management Consulting

~ Data Processing

#304 - 4546 Park Avenue

Terrace, B.C. _