Government succession rules are very rigid.

Preparing a will can ensure your wishes are met in the unfortunate event of your death.

1. A will helps ensure your estate is managed and distributed in accordance with your wishes, whether it is amongst family members, friends, or other beneficiaries. If you do not have a will, your estate would go only to your closest living relatives in accordance with the statutory rules of succession.
2. It helps ensure your minor children or any disabled significant ones are taken care of properly.

A will allows you to set out a variety of wishes including giving of gifts to your loved ones, or appointing a guardian for your children. A will can also assign instructions for how you would like your children to be raised and financially supported. For example a creation of a trust for the benefit of minor, a disabled person, or a person who cannot properly manage finances, ensures their wealth is preserved for them.

Just as well, you can instruct what you do not want to happen. For example, you can explicitly instruct who is not to become a guardian of your children, nor receive any part of your estate.

If you find yourself needing to make a change to your Will, you have two options. We can either execute a Codicil (i.e. an amendment to your will), or create and entirely new Will. With a Codicil, you can make minor changes such as changing the named beneficiary or the share percentage, adding a guardian for a child, and correcting any errors. For any other significant changes, we can help draft a new will.

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that authorizes someone to act on your behalf in legal, financial, and property matters.

It can also be used to designate someone you trust to handle your financial affairs, if you happen to be out of country or sick.

You can choose from two types of Power of Attorney, a general or a specific one. A general Power of Attorney gives your attorney unlimited power. A specific Power of Attorney gives your attorney power only over specified matters, such as a specific property or a certain financial asset.

The attorney is not your lawyer. It can be anyone you trust to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf.

The Power of Attorney typically ends, if you become mentally incapable. To avoid unnecessary stress and consequences in such cases you can choose to continue to have someone manage your affairs through an Enduring Power of Attorney, as described below, which must be arranged for in advance.

In the unfortunate event that you become mentally incapable, an Enduring Power of Attorney allows your loved ones to continue managing your affairs and property.

If you do not have an Enduring Power of Attorney, your family will not be able to access or manage your accounts, properties, or financial assets. They will only be able to do so, after a court approves them as your trustee.

An Enduring Power of Attorney saves your family a tremendous amount of emotional and financial turmoil, caused by having to apply for a trusteeship court order to manage your legal, financial, and property affairs. This process can take months, and requires costly paperwork. In addition, if you are mentally incapable you will not have a say in who will become in charge of your affairs and how you want them handled.

An Enduring Power of Attorney allows you to be in control of appointing a trusted individual to manage your property and take care of your family’s well-being, in the event you are mentally incapable and unable to care for your family and your estate.

It is important to have someone who knows your values, and will care for your estate in accordance with your wishes; someone who knows how you prefer to spend your money, your approach to your children, and how you prefer to live out your life.

You have the control to choose someone who has the financial skills to ensure your property is being managed in accordance with your wishes (e.g. the money you have been donating to charity for years will continue to be donated).

You can choose from two types of Enduring Powers of Attorney, a Continuing and a Springing one. With a Continuing Power of Attorney, both you and your attorney have the power to manage your affairs as soon as it is signed. With a Springing Enduring Power of Attorney, your attorney’s power becomes effective only at a specific time after certain conditions are met (e.g. once you turn a certain age or in the unfortunate event of mental incapacity).

A Personal directive outlines your wishes in both medical and other personal affairs, when you are no longer capable of communicating them. For that reason it may also be referred to as a Living Will or an Advanced Medical Directive.

Without a Personal Directive, your loved ones may need to go through a tedious court application to attain guardianship and have the authority to represent you at the hospital, make decisions regarding your treatment, and carry out your wishes. In this case, you also may not have a say in who will become in charge of your affairs and how you want them to be handled.

A Personal Directive allows your chosen representative, who knows your values and wishes, to make personal decisions on your behalf. These wishes can include anything from your choice of medical treatment, body organ donation, and end of life procedures to instructions regarding your children.

If you have a business that you’ve poured your heart and soul into, you’ll want to make sure it too is cared for in case of your mental incapacity or in the unfortunate event of your death.

We can assist with reviewing and amending family and business situations to ensure your business will continue forward and be properly dealt with in accordance with your wishes.

1. We will meet to assess your wishes and needs, with the goal of deciding on the most appropriate estate planning approach for you. Our easy-to-follow questionnaire will guide you through all your options, so we leave no stone unturned during our initial appointment. Whether this is your first time drafting a will or your life circumstances have changed, we’ve compiled a convenient and affordable package consisting of a Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, and a Personal Directive. The three documents cover instances of both death and incapacity, so you can have peace of mind that you are fully protected on all fronts. Drafting all three documents at once also allows us to ensure they are consistent with one another, meanwhile offering you some cost savings in the process. If you are not able to visit us in-person, we are happy to assist you online or over the phone.
2. Once we have a good understanding of your requests, we will take approximately 5-10 business days to draft the documents in accordance with your wishes and instructions. If you need your documents within 72 hours, ask us about our rush fee; based on availability we can assist with same day delivery for urgent matters.
3. You will then receive your draft for review. You can take some time to reflect and ensure you are happy with your decisions or identify any further changes that must be made.
4. During our second meeting we will discuss and sign the documents together, thus bringing your wishes into a legally enforceable effect. Once signed, you will take the original home with you and we retain a copy.
5. In the circumstance of life changes or when your children grow up and changes must be made to your existing will, we will happily welcome you back and assist you with any and all necessary changes. As your lawyer, we are here for you for life through every chapter to ensure you are always protected and your personal freedoms and wishes are met.