Being too specific about bequests. Wills can cause trouble when people are too specific about their assets and when they forget to include that catch-all residue clause. Mr. Archibald says he discourages wills leaving specific items because of the risk they will be sold before the person dies. It is safer, he says, to leave someone a legacy, or a share of the estate. Proper consideration of RRSPs and life insurance.
Problems can also arise from how retirement funds and life insurance are bequeathed.
Changing the RRSP beneficiary in your will is not good enough. Another error is not naming an alternate beneficiary for your life-insurance policy, Mr. Corbin says. If the named beneficiary dies, the insurance would fall into the estate and become subject to probate claims. Assuming your beneficiaries will die in a particular order. Problems also can arise when people assume an order of death, and don't specify what happens if a named beneficiary has already died.