SKD Law provides Wills and other estate planning documents (Power of Attorney and Personal Directive) to individuals across the territory, both virtually and in-person. 

A Will, also known as a testament, is a legal document that expresses a person's wishes regarding the distribution of their property and the care of any minor children upon their death. It allows the testator (the person making the will) to specify how their assets should be distributed among heirs and beneficiaries, nominate executors to manage the estate, and appoint guardians for minor children. It serves several essential functions and is subject to specific legal requirements to ensure its validity. A Will comes into effect once the testator has died.

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows an individual to appoint another person (the "attorney" ) to act on their behalf in legal, financial, or other matters. The principal grants specific powers to the attorney, which can include managing finances, signing documents, or handling property transactions.This document comes into effect while the individual is alive but unable or unwilling to make their own decisions about their finances.

A Personal Directive is a legal document that allows an individual to appoint someone else (usually referred to as an "agent" or "proxy") to make personal and health care decisions on their behalf in the event that they become incapable of making such decisions for themselves due to illness, injury, or other circumstances.

It is crucial for everyone to have a carefully drafted, up-to-date, and valid will, Power of Attorney, and Personal Directive that has been reviewed by a lawyer, as the consequences can be significant. 

If you do not have these documents, then the territorial legislation will govern your affairs. 

If you die without a will you will be deemed to have died “intestate” (i.e. without having left instructions as to how your property and assets are to be divided and distributed).

In such situations, your assets will be distributed according to the intestacy rules in the Intestate Succession Act which provides for a regimented distribution of your property, beginning with your spouse, then your children, and so on, rather than according to your wishes.

This can cause challenges for common-law spouses, spouses from a second-marriage, and others. This also means that your property and assets will not necessarily be divided as you would have wanted it to be divided and in the proportions you would have wanted it to be divided in.

In addition to creating significant problems for your family and other intended beneficiaries, dying without a will can also introduce substantial time delays and considerable costs to managing and distributing your estate.

Not having a will means you are essentially surrendering control over your property and assets to the courts and to the government and allowing them to decide how your estate will be divided and to whom it will go to.