NOVEMBER IS MAKE A WILL MONTH

  • 30 octobre 2017

NOVEMBER IS MAKE A WILL MONTH

Ontario Bar Association (OBA) launches new public awareness campaign for 2017

October 30, 2017 (TORONTO) – This year the OBA is launching a new public awareness campaign as part of its annual MAKE A WILL MONTH, which will include over 40 free legal information sessions by OBA volunteers in Toronto, Hamilton, Cambridge and Ottawa. 

MAKE A WILL MONTH is an annual program allowing OBA members across the province to help engage and educate the public about the importance of having a properly drafted will. This year the OBA has partnered the program with its Speakers Bureau for a month of public speaking events, supported by a broader public facing creative campaign, to raise awareness of common and emerging wills and estate planning issues. 

“These are topics that affect an increasing number of Ontarians,” said Quinn Ross, President of the OBA. “Our members see these every day, and the public awareness campaign is another way that lawyers can help the public better understand what issues need to be addressed.”  

“We are living and working in ways that are different than even a decade ago, and estate planning needs to address emerging complexities,” said Caroline Abela, Chair of the OBA Trust and Estates Section. “Our technology driven lives mean that people have an increasing assortment of digital assets that they need to consider. Blended families, complex family arrangements, and people living in multiple jurisdictions are also becoming the norm, not the exception,” she adds.

Quick Facts

A 2012 survey by LawPRO reported that a majority of Canadian adults do not have a signed will.  A 2012 survey by CIBC reported that of those Canadians between the ages of 45 and 64 who have a will, 44% haven’t updated it in more than five years.

A 2017 report by eMarketer revealed that nearly 58% of Canadians (21.2 million people) are social media users and that number is expected to continue climbing.  A 2017 Report by Bond Brand Loyalty states that the average loyalty program member has enrolled in 12.2 loyalty programs; that an estimated $16 billion in points are unredeemed by loyalty plan members in Canada; that 55% of members don’t know their points balance; and 41% are unaware of their points value.  

According to the 2016 Canadian Census, common-law unions represent about 21% of couples, with about a quarter of those people being separated, divorced or widowed.  The  2016 Canadian Census also revealed that about 8.9% of census families are “Stepfamilies”, referring to couple families with children that contain at least one biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner whose birth or adoption preceded the current relationship.

For more information visit www.oba.org/makeawill

About the Ontario Bar Association

Established in 1907, the OBA is the largest voluntary legal association in Ontario representing over 16,000 lawyers, judges, law professors and law students. The OBA provides continuing professional development and advocates for improvements to the law in the interests of the profession and public.

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Media contact

Carol-Ann Granatstein
Media Relations and Communications Manager
cgranatstein@oba.org
416-869-1047 x 364