Working at the Elmwood Cemetery, Rhonda Favreau gets a daily reminder life does not last forever. But that hasn't led her to get a will prepared yet.

"We've thought of one," said Favreau. "But it's just, you're young and you don't think of it. But as we're starting to get older, it's starting to come into play."

Favreau is far from alone.

Angus Reid polled 1,516 Canadian adults online on Dec. 21 and 22, 2017, and found 51 per cent lack a last will and testament.

In Manitoba the numbers are even higher — 58 per cent of those surveyed here don't have a will in place.

People cited lots of reasons in the poll, such as being too young to worry about it, or not wanting to think about dying. The poll also revealed men are more likely to have a will in place than women.

But whatever the person’s gender, without a will — they could be leaving their family in a bind.

Lawyer Lillian Mackenzie says without a will in place, your property will be distributed based on a government mandated formula.

"We have what's called the Intestate Succession Act. And that sets out depending on your circumstances who is next in line to inherit." said Mackenzie. "So, if you have a spouse, how much they get. If you a spouse and children from a previous relationship, how much do each of them get?"

That could mean some people would be left with nothing.

And it isn't just people who'd be left in the lurch: charities could also lose out.

"A lot of people do want to give to their community in their will," said United Way president Connie Walker.

That's why charities like the United Way have endowment funds, where willed money is banked, the interest used to support more than 100 agencies, programs and partners across the city.

"Those dollars are so important." said Walker.

Lawyers CTV News spoke with say getting a will drafted can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of your estate.

But spending that money on fees now could save your family some heartache later.

"Working where I do, I see a lot of families in disarray because they don't have anything," said Rhonda Favreau.

You can also draft a will on your own. Manitoba allows what's known as a holographic will, a will in the person's own handwriting and signed at the end by the person.

However, some lawyers caution that if a will is done this way and there is any confusion or things left out, it could require an application to the court to interpret what you wrote.