Wills and Estates Law

There is nothing more important than family.  Unfortunately, the day may come when your family has to make some extremely difficult decisions in the event of your death or infirmity.

Have you done all you can do to help them through it?

Preparing a Last Will and Testament, Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive are important steps in preparing your family for these situations.

Last Will and Testament:

If you pass away without a valid Last Will and Testament your estate would be divided up according to provincial intestacy laws. That means that the government, not you, decides who inherits your estate.

However, a Last Will and Testament is an instruction manual, created by you, in which you decide who inherits your estate.

For the most part you can transfer your estate in any which way you want to.

It is also the way you choose who will be the guardian for your children which, of course, is the most important reason of all to have your Will prepared.

Enduring Power of Attorney:

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document by which you appoint someone you trust to handle your financial matters in the event you become mentally incapacitated.

Examples of mental incapacity included Alzheimer’s, dementia, brain damage, coma or drug induced incapacity.

Without an Enduring Power of Attorney it is left up to the courts to choose someone for you.  What if they choose someone you do not want or trust?

Personal Directive:

A Personal Directive is a legal document by which you appoint someone you trust to handle your health related matters in the event you become mentally incapacitated.

It allows you to outline your decisions regarding life support, pain control, health care options and organ donation.

Just like an Enduring Power of Attorney, if you do not appoint someone yourself then it could be left up to the courts to choose someone for you.