Estates, Wills, and Trusts

The two most common tools of estate planning are the Last Will and Testament and Power of Attorney. Many people will not require much beyond these two documents to ensure that their wishes are met. In other cases, the nature of the estate is such that it may be desirable to develop a more complex estate plan which provides beneficial tax consequences. In these cases, we work closely with your financial advisor in order to give effect to these arrangements.

Regardless of your financial situation, the Will is the foundation of any estate plan.

“Attorney for Personal Care”

There have been changes to the Infirm Persons Act in recent times, which now make it possible to execute an Attorney for Personal Care. This is similar in principle to a general Power of Attorney, except that rather than dealing with financial matters, your Attorney is given the capacity to make decisions as to your medical care. Without an Attorney for Personal Care, decisions concerning your medical treatment will be left to your family. Clearly, in cases where difficult decisions must be made, there may be conflict among family members as to the appropriate course of action, with resulting confusion and delay in the decision-making process. The Attorney for Personal Care resolves this issue.

A will is an essential part of an estate plan. But it is only one part of that plan. Other key instruments may be domestic contracts, insurance policies, RRSPs and other investments. These documents should accord with one another. One should not overlap, repeal or be inconsistent with the other. Therefore, a comprehensive estate plan will require advice from financial planners, accountancy and taxation experts, lawyers, insurers, and other professionals.

Lawyers