We work closely with the firm’s Tax group to provide individuals, families and business clients with comprehensive advice tailored to their specific needs to ensure the orderly succession of assets to the next generation including reducing or eliminating probate fees and minimizing or deferring tax on capital gains, to meet any philanthropic desires and to prepare for the possibility that those individuals may become unable to take care of themselves or manage their assets.
OUR CLIENTS
High-net-worth families and individuals
Owners of family-run businesses
Individuals as executors and trustees, and trust companies in that capacity
Charities and not-for-profit organizations
Parents of disabled children
Disabled individuals as beneficiaries
Our group has authored and edited various texts on trusts, wills and estates for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (CLE) which are updated annually, including Will Precedents: An Annotated Guide, various chapters in the British Columbia Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation publication, British Columbia Probate & Estate Administration Practice Manual, and portions of Annotated Estates Practice.
Awards and recognition
Our Wills, Estates and Trusts group members have been recognized as leaders in their field by Best Lawyers in Canada, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Benchmark Canada.
Experience
Complex estate planning, including wills, alter ego, joint partner or other trusts
Planning for potential incapacity including powers of attorney tailored to specific individual and corporate needs, nominations of committee and representation agreements
Post-mortem tax planning
Corporate and share structures, shareholder arrangements, and trusts for shares
Estate planning for families of persons with disabilities and special needs and advising organizations which assist the disabled community
Estate planning for disabled individuals
Adult guardianship, including the appointment of a committee (personal or property guardian)
End-of-life decision making
Representing and advising charities as beneficiaries of an estate or trust
Passing of executor, trustee or committee accounts
All aspects of trust and estate administration.
LITIGATION
Wills variation actions under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act
The validity of a will, including allegations of undue influence or incapacity of the deceased
Court applications to interpret the provisions of a will
Contested passing of executor, trustee or committee accounts
Breach of trust actions
EMERGING ISSUES
Family-run businesses seeking orderly succession planning to smoothly transition their businesses to the next generation
Opportunities to defer income tax and avoid probate fees through joint partner, alter ego and other trusts
Longer life spans increase the risk of a loss individuals' cognitive faculties, increasing the need for living wills, powers of attorney, nominations of committee and representation agreements
Second marriages and common-law relationships lead to sometimes-forgotten yet critical changes in wills, trusts and other estate or personal planning documents
Mentally or physically challenged adults require plans for ongoing care when their primary caregivers can no longer care for them.
