Most people, when they think about estate planning, think about wills. That makes sense. A will is the document that determines what happens to everything you own after you die. It's the thing people mean when they say "I really need to get my affairs in order."

But a will only matters after you die. It does absolutely nothing for you while you're alive.

Ontario law sets a surprisingly low bar for what makes a will technically valid. You can write your will on a napkin and it can be legally binding. The question isn't whether you can do it yourself. It's whether doing it yourself will actually accomplish what you need it to.