Estate Planning

A properly drafted will is essential to specifying the distribution of assets and ensuring loved ones are taken care of.

If you do not have a will, your property and assets will be distributed not according to your desires but according to the intestacy rules under the Succession Law Reform Act, which also dictates how assets left to minors are dealt with. Assets do not necessarily go to your spouse and, depending on a variety of factors, may pass to a combination of family members outside your control. 

There are stringent legal requirements for a will to be considered valid. We will help draft wills to address your specific concerns.  

While some people believe that they have “simple” estates, there may be a variety of subtle factors that require careful consideration.  Circumstances that can complicate estate planning include, but are not limited to: second marriages, separation or divorce, disputes among family members, disabled, immature or minor beneficiaries, inheritances, guardianship of minors, or family owned businesses.

Trusts can open up a wide range of planning tools and opportunities for a testator, which can address protecting the passing wealth from one generation to the next from unnecessary fees, family law issues, and protecting vulnerable family members and family relationships.

Some forms of trusts that may be helpful to your situation include: family, inter-vivos trusts, spousal trusts, housing trusts, bare trusts, foreign property trusts, alter ego trusts, Henson trusts, joint partner trusts, and insurance trusts.

The creation of trusts can be complex and overwhelming without expert guidance. Trusts have complicated legal and procedural rules that must be addressed with skill to ensure they function as intended and assets are protected, and minors or disabled family members are provided for.

We assist with the preparation of our client’s powers of attorney for property and powers of attorney for personal care.

We offer advice on how you select who will act as your attorney, the obligations related to the distribution of the grantor’s estate, and the maintenance of the grantor during their lifetime.

We can also advise on alternatives solutions such as inter-vivos trusts.