Wills Lawyers
Wills lawyers in Calgary
Calgary Wills Lawyers
As wills lawyers in Calgary we recognize that people plan for their future in different ways. We also understand that thinking about and planning your own passing is not easy. The wills and estates lawyers at Kahane Law Office are here to meet your estate planning needs. We help you plan for the future to protect your wishes, your estate and your loved ones. Remember, without a will, provincial law determines who will inherit your estate. This same law will also trigger when they will receive it. We refer to an estate with no will as an intestate estate. Learn about how wills protect your wishes, you estate, your beneficiaries and family. In Calgary, Alberta call 403-225-8810. We always meet with you to assist in drafting your will.
Will Drafting Lawyers In Calgary
Our lawyers help you draft a will or make changes to an existing will with a codicil. Some clients hire us to review their will to ensure it is both valid and addresses their specific wishes. We usually start off with an information worksheet. This lets you think about the important aspects of a will that our wills lawyers need to know. It also lets you communicate your specific wishes to our wills lawyers clearly. This allows for clarity and directness so we make sure the proper drafting of your estate documents. We also encourage clients to call or email if they have any questions.
You are not alone through this process. We recognize how important wills are at any stage of life. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our wills lawyers if you need further clarity. Home or house call visits are available. We can also help if you are in the hospital or a care facility.
NOT An Online Service
While we usually start with an intake information for, we do not offer a “same will for everyone” service. With online wills, a standard “one size fits no one” template is used. The service only fills in the blanks. Our wills lawyers work with you, ask you (sometimes tough or uncomfortable) questions to make sure that we properly record your final wishes. The will we draft for you will be unique to you, your family, your circumstances and, most importantly, your wishes. We also ensure that your will complies with Alberta law.
What Factors Do Wills Lawyers Address:
A will determines the final outcomes for many aspects of your life. We review each of them with every client. We take the time to explain options, potential outcomes and the legal and practical consequences. This allows them to make informed choices throughout the process. That said, several factors play more predominant roles in people’s minds than others. The key benefits to having a will include your ability to determine many things about the dealing of your estate. For example, this includes naming the person or people who will:
Administer your estate
This person decides how to manage your assets after your death, ensure your beneficiaries receive what you want them to, run your business for your estate, invest your estates assets for the benefit of your beneficiaries and wind up your estate including the filing of your final tax return. This person is the executor or executrix but is now titled the personal representative. This was only a name change in the position and not a change to the role. A key factor in selecting this person includes ensuring that you trust them. Many argue that is the only factor, however having the skill set to manage your estate is also important.
Talk to your wills lawyer. Also remember, that your personal representative has the ability to hire professionals (lawyers, accountants, etc) as needed to assist in managing your estate. The role of the personal representative changes depending on the nature of your estate.
Inherit your estate / assets
Next, you give specific assets to specific people and / or split your estate into percentage shares. Some people make provisions for charities, while others are concerned with family members or specifically disinheriting someone. The choice is largely yours in determining who benefits from your estate. Our Calgary wills lawyers help ensure that you follow Alberta law with respect to the terms you put into your will. This helps to avoid estate disputes and litigation. With the stress of losing a loved one, no person needs an estate fight to make things worse. Further, it allows you to strategically plan for tax advantages, thus helping your beneficiaries. Lastly, a will is the only mechanism to ensure that your estate ends up with the people you want it to.
Be guardian of your children
While a non-deceased parent will generally continue to raise your child/children, wills lawyers work with you to appoint a guardian of your children. You do this in the event that the other parent passes before you or at the same time. People often pick a trusted friend or family member. The key importance with setting this up is ensuring your children’s upbringing in a manner consistent with what you want. This is sometimes a hard choice for people. For example, relevant considerations we encourage clients to take into account include religion, education, morals, ethics, etc.. Learn more about wills after you have had children. In addition, we often add guardians for people with no children in case they later have children or become guardians of minors at a future date.
Administer a trust for minor beneficiaries, spouses and others
Lastly, your will allows you to set up a trust to ensure that a minor beneficiary, spouses, disabled beneficiaries, spendthrifts, etc. receive their inheritance when ready to responsibly manage it. We know that some people lack the ability to responsibly deal with large sums (or any sums) of money. Our testamentary trust lawyers help you set up those trust provisions in your will to reflect your wishes. This allows you to protect your loved ones after you pass. While permissible to allocate your estates assets for education and day to day living, many people prefer to leave the bulk of their estate to minors at an age over 18 (Alberta).
In most cases, older ages reflect when people are financial responsible or have the income from assets go to one person and the capital to another. In fact, we often have 2-4 capital dispersals at different ages. For example, a third at 20, a third at 25 and a third at 30. The choice is yours to make.
Wills Lawyers Reviewing Your Existing Will
With the change in will legislation, so were the rules surrounding wills changed. Many of our clients’ wills were drafted under the old laws. In some instances, the effect on their estate necessitates a change to their will. While our lawyers are happy to review your will, often a more cost effective solution is the redrafting of a will from scratch. This ensures that we resolve drafting issues without the expense of the review. Often it costs more to find errors, or more often identify missing aspect from a will. You then have to draft a new will anyway. This allows us to properly ensure that your current wishes are legally reflected in your estate plan.
More Information On Wills
Knowledge is power in more than one way. If you want more information on wills and wills lawyers, please see our wills video. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to call or email. People often ask about all the problems with holographic wills. Look here if you need ideas on how to talk to and encourage your parents to put a will & estate plan in place. Understanding you and your estates legal position, allows you to protect you wishes, your family and your hard earned estate. A will is the absolute best legal mechanism to protect your loved ones and your hard earned estate.
Contact Our Wills Lawyers
The laws surrounding wills and estate administration have changed in Alberta. The Wills and Succession Act was proclaimed in Alberta on February 1, 2012. This legislation incorporates substantial changes into the areas of wills and estates. In addition, with the passage of time, people need to re-look at their will and estate plan. Kahane Law Office would be pleased to assist you in deciding if you need to make changes to your will based on these changes. You can reach us toll-free at 1-877-225-8817, 403-225-8810 locally or email us directly here.