Wills and Personal Planning Resources

In continuing support of Make-A-Will Week, LawMatters has prepared this list of resources for wills and personal planning. This guide is specifically for public library workers and is meant to help you when patrons come to you with questions about making a will or planning for their future.

For resources that would be helpful for legal helpers and professionals such as advocates and lawyers, please see CLBC's Wills and Personal Planning Resources guide. 

Online resources:

Clicklaw common questions:

See all wills, estates, and planning Clicklaw common questions. 

People’s Law School:

See all resources from People’s Law School on preparing a will & estate planning

Writing Your Own Will: A Guide for First Nations People Living on Reserve: This guide provides instructions on how to make a will, completed examples of wills, and a blank will with instructions for filling it out. 

Print resources:

  • The LSLAP Manual has a chapter on Wills and Estate Administration which includes a section Making and Executing a Will. This title is available as a Clicklaw Wikibook, which can be read online or offline by downloading the PDF. Additionally, public libraries should have a print copy of this title in their collection, courtesy of LawMatters.
  • People’s Law School also produces Publications, which can be read online, downloaded and printed, or ordered in print booklets from Crown Publications at no cost. See publications on wills and estates.  
  • The booklet Legal Information for Indigenous People outlines what makes a valid will for Indigenous people living on reserve in the chapter Death and Taxes. This title is available as a Clicklaw Wikibook, which can be read online or offline. Additionally, public libraries should have a print copy of this title in their collection, courtesy of LawMatters.

All the titles below are available on the Law Books for Libraries list; make sure to check your shelves to see if you have a copy! Many of these titles are also available at Courthouse Libraries BC branches. If not available at your nearest CLBC branch, we can send a copy to that location or send scanned sections of titles to you or your patron for free (within copyright).

  • Wills and Personal Planning Precedents: An Annotated Guide: This publication is very helpful when drafting wills in British Columbia. The book brings together documents and sample clauses typically used in a will and includes BC-focused precedents (i.e.: templates). The annotations and commentary explain the use of optional clauses in a will and the relevant law.
    • The digital copy of this title available through CLE Online at CLBC locations features a document builder that allows patrons to select sample clauses and create their own will. This video gives an introduction to the document builder and how it can be used to make a will.
  • Islamic Wills, Trusts and Estate Drafting in Canada: A practical guide to Islamic estate planning in the Canadian legal context.
  • Guide to Wills & Estates: This guide is a practice manual for lawyers containing instructions, precedents, tips, and detailed procedures. However, it is written and designed for readers of all levels of experience.
  • When I Die: Financial Planning for Life and Death: set up as a practical workbook, this guide uses simplified explanations to describe the tax implications of death and how to minimize them.  
  • British Columbia Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation: a BC-focused guide for those making wills for complex estates, helping people create trusts, minimize taxes, and preserve their estate’s wealth.

Personal planning means preparing for decreased physical or mental capacity later in life. It often involves creating legal documents and/or appointing a substitute decision maker should you need one due to illness, injury, or disability. 

There are many different types of ways to plan for your future. Here are some resources that explain the different options available and when they might be appropriate to use.

A representation agreement (RA) is a legal document that allows you to choose someone (known as the representative) to help you make decisions or make decisions for you. There are two different types of representation agreements; which one a person needs will depend on their capacity to understand the nature and consequences of making the agreement.

Agreements differ in what types of decisions the representative is granted power to make. One type of representation agreement enables the representative to make health, personal care, financial and legal decisions; the other only gives the representative power to make health and personal care decisions, with a separate document, such as a power of attorney, being required for financial and legal decisions. The details are explained in the resources listed below.

Online resources:

People’s Law School has a number of resources explaining the difference between representation agreements and how to prepare both types.

Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry is a BC non-profit that provides many resources to help you create your own representation agreement. Nidus also maintains a registry for personal planning documents in partnership with Juricert, a service of the Law Society of BC.

Print resources:

A power of attorney is a legal document that gives a person (the attorney) the power to make financial and legal decisions for you. A general power of attorney is used when someone is mentally capable of making decisions but is unable to do so; it ends if/when you become mentally incapable. An enduring power of attorney is similar but continues after someone becomes mentally incapable.

Online Resources

The resources below provide more information about power of attorney documents, including what they do, the duties of an attorney, how to select the right power of attorney, and how to prepare, end, or change a power of attorney.

Print Resources

  • The LSLAP Manual has a chapter on Adult Guardianship and Substitute Decision Making; the section on Substitute Decision Making features information about power of attorney. This title is available as a Clicklaw Wikibook, which can be read online or offline (download as a PDF). Additionally, public libraries should have a print copy of this title in their collection, courtesy of LawMatters.
  • People’s Law School also produces Publications, which can be read online, downloaded and printed, or ordered in print booklets from Crown Publications at no cost. See publications on personal planning, which includes the publication Power of Attorney.
  • Wills and Personal Planning Precedents: An Annotated Guide: This publication includes a chapter on Power of Attorney and a precedent power of attorney (i.e., template power of attorney). 
    • The digital copy of this title available through CLE Online at CLBC locations features a document builder that allows patrons to select sample clauses and create their own enduring power of attorney. This video gives an introduction to the document builder and how it can be used.

If your patron needs extra help making their will or personal planning documents, these are some referral options:  

Free Referral Programs

  • Access Pro Bono Roster Wills & Estates Program: this program can provide legal services to help draft a will, power of attorney, committee agreement, and representation agreement. Services are available province wide and financial eligibility criteria apply.
  • LSLAP Clinic: UBC’s Law Students Legal Advice Program helps low-income people draft wills for estates under $25,000, representation agreements, powers of attorney, and advanced directives. Available in the Lower Mainland only.
  • Seniors First BC Elder Law Clinic: Assists seniors (55+) with drafting wills and personal planning documents, including powers of attorney and representation agreements. Financial eligibility criteria apply. Available in the Lower Mainland only.
  • Seniors First BC Advance Planning Clinics: Assists seniors (55+) with drafting wills and personal planning documents, including powers of attorney and representation agreements. Financial eligibility criteria apply. Clinics are located in Chilliwack, Sechelt, Prince George, Nanaimo, and Haida Gwaii (Massett and Skidegate); see the website for specific dates.  
  • Lawyer Referral Service: This service, operated by Access Pro Bono, helps people find a lawyer to retain for their legal issue. After contacting the service, callers can expect to have a free fifteen-minute consultation with a lawyer to determine their legal needs.

Low-cost Referral Programs

  • Everyone Legal Clinic: Provides certain legal services at low cost. They can help prepare documents like wills and power of attorney at an affordable cost.
  • Unbundled legal services: Unbundling your legal matter means breaking it down into parts. You choose which parts a lawyer helps with and which parts you do yourself, meaning you can receive professional help at a reduced cost. Not all lawyers offer unbundled legal services. You can search for lawyers in your community or region using the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch Find-A-Lawyer tool. Once you locate a lawyer, you can ask if they offer unbundled legal services. Please see the People’s Law School page on Unbundled Legal Services for more information on unbundling works.  

If you want to find a legal service in your community or region, you can search on the Clicklaw Services tab and PovNet’s Find an Advocate Tool.

Content reviewed Oct, 2024

Plain Language Legal Resources