Areas of Practice
Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Estate Planning
What is an estate plan?
An estate plan is, collectively, those documents that help manage your assets both during your lifetime and after you pass away. Often these consist of a Will and a Power of Attorney, but can also include, for example, documents related to RESP planning, life insurance planning, and beneficiary designations for your investments.
What is a Will?
A Will is basically an instruction manual for how to deal with your estate once you pass away. In it, you name an executor to take over the management of your estate on your death and you instruct your executor to divvy up your estate among named beneficiaries. You may also charge your executor with holding certain assets in trust for beneficiaries and can designate guardians for your minor children.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a document through which you appoint someone to help you manage your financial and legal affairs during your lifetime. For instance, it can be used to grant your child the ability to help you with your banking. The powers granted under a Power of Attorney can be broadly or narrowly defined. Unlike a Will, which only carries force upon your death, a Power of Attorney terminates once you pass away.
Representation Agreements and “Living Wills”
What is a Representation Agreement?
A Representation Agreement is a document through which you appoint someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. Just like a Power of Attorney, a Representation Agreement terminates once you pass away.
What is a “Living Will”?
A “Living Will”, also called an Advanced Directive, is a document that sets out those actions that should or should not be taken with respect to your healthcare once you can’t make such decisions for yourself.
Estate Administration
Are you an executor of an estate? Did someone you know just pass away without a will?
Estate administration is the process by which the executor or the administrator manages the estate of the person who passed away. Being an executor or administrator can be an overwhelming and thankless job that comes with a lot of obligations and legal burdens. If you are administering an estate, it is important that you obtain legal advice on what steps to take both to manage estate assets and to limit your own liability.
Trust Planning
What is a Trust?
A Trust is a component of estate planning. Trusts are a tool to hold assets that will be managed by a trustee according to set instructions. While they can have a variety of benefits, they are not without their limitations. In light of their complexities particularly with respect to tax, it is important to involve specialists when making an estate plan involving trust planning. I will happily work with your tax and financial advisors to affect trust planning that satisfies your needs.