Where there's a will, there's a way — to avoid causing headaches for your loved ones after you're gone

A St. John's lawyer is urging people to not put off writing their wills — or risk leaving your family with heartache, confusion and hefty court fees.

Greg Noseworthy, the Public Legal Information Association of N.L.'s access to justice co-ordinator, told CBC News it's common for people to avoid preparing a will because "there's kind of this classic fear if you sign the will and now you're accepting that you're going to die," he said.

"I always make the joke to people when talking about their estate planning: 'I've had one since my early to mid-20s and I'm still standing.' So it's not like you're signing a death warrant. There's no reason to not think about planning at any stage in life."

Joshua Hancott, a lawyer at Wayne White Law Office in St. John's who's done a lot of work on wills since being admitted to the bar last year, said a will should be updated along with major life events, such as buying a house, getting married, and having children.

It's not something you want to be doing on your deathbed, he said.

"My biggest advice would be to look at getting a will sooner rather than later," he said. "As life events happen, update your will if you need to."

Noseworthy said he always gets a lot of gasps when he explains a person can live with their partner for 50 years but if they're not married, their partner doesn't necessarily have the right to inherit the estate. If someone dies without a will, their partner can be left with nothing and face a legal battle.

He said there are often instances where someone finds out the home they shared with a late partner is going to the children from a previous relationship.

"It catches a lot of people off guard," he said. "The worst part is it catches people when they're grieving too."

When a person dies without a will specifying who gets what, he said, it's common for surviving relatives to argue because multiple people may have been told they would get the same particular item.

"A lot of the disputes that get people going aren't necessarily the money. You hear a lot of people say it's not about the money and I'm sure a lot of times it really isn't. It's the principle of the matter," said Noseworthy.

People should also think about the power of attorney and an advance health-care directive to appoint someone to make health-care decisions for them if they can't, said Hancott.

A will can also contain funeral arrangements, so if someone wants to be cremated, they can have that noted rather than leave it for the family to figure out what the deceased would have wanted, said Hancott.

Noseworthy said people don't necessarily need a lawyer to set up a will but can buy a will kit instead. But if it isn't done properly, he warned, it can cause problems.