Estates, Trusts & Private Client

Our Estates, Trusts and Private Client team assists clients with navigating through their personal planning needs.

Personal estate planning is no longer as simple as preparing a will.  It is common for families to own real estate in multiple jurisdictions (whether another province of Canada or another country), to own businesses and financial assets in multiple jurisdictions, and to have family members studying, marrying, residing and/or raising their own families in other jurisdictions.  We are seeing an increased interest in philanthropy, where our clients who have prospered have decided to reinvest a portion of their wealth into activities for the benefit of their community.  Sadly, we are now more often facing issues of degenerative diseases, long term care, life with disabilities and disputes over family and estate assets.  All these require careful planning to ensure that the assets and interests of the family are protected.

Our Estates, Trusts and Private Client practice includes wills, powers of attorney, trusts, guardianship applications, probate planning, estate litigation, planned giving and philanthropy (including creation of public and private foundations), and charity and not-for-profit organizations.  On the administration of estates, we assist and advise executors in their duties, including applications for probate, preparation of accounts for estates and trusts, administration of trusts, post mortem tax planning, and other complex fiduciary issues. Our team works with other professional advisors to facilitate a seamless solution for private clients for their estate, family and business planning needs in the most tax efficient manner.

Our tax lawyers are recognized experts on tax matters and are frequent speakers at the Canadian Tax Foundation, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association and Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ conferences.