Wills and Estates

Wills & Power of Attorneys

Many people spend their lives collecting their material possessions and fail to give enough consideration to passing on their possessions to their dependants or beneficiaries. Is a simple will adequate or is a testamentary trust more appropriate.

We can assist you to determine whether a will is sufficient or a testamentary trust is appropriate and prepare those documents for you.

While many people seem to realize the importance of having a valid will, many do not understand the importance of an enduring power of attorney. Do you have an enduring power of attorney?

If not, do you realize the substantial difficulty and expense you might be putting your dependents or family members through by making them apply to the Guardianship and Adultship Tribunal as a consequence of failing to have a power of attorney in place?

Estate administration and dispute resolution

Estate administration involved the exercise of collecting in the assets of a deceased person, ensuing that all liabilities of the estate have been catered for, and then distributing the proceeds of the estate as required by the will or by legislation.

If a loved one has passed away and you need assistance with the administration of the estate, please speak with us. In our experience, many estates obtain probate of the will (and incur the somewhat substantial expense of doing so) in situations where it is just not necessary, sometime on the advice from the deceased’s financier that it is necessary. Often those financiers are wrong. We can properly advise you as to the need to obtain probate and perhaps help to save you a significant amount if the application is not necessary.

Also, it is unfortunate but true that disputes about the distribution of an estate can and often do arise after the death of a loved one.

These disputes can arise in many forms, including:

• an executor who fails to properly administer the estate
• a dependent who has not been properly catered for or claims to have not been properly catered for in the provision from the estate
• a claim that the “last will” of the deceased is not in fact the last will

It is important to have proper legal representation to protect your rights to the equitable distribution of an estate or to ensure that the estate is distributed as much as possible according to your wishes of the deceased.