Planning Your Estate
The lawyers of Barbeau Evans LLP, in concert with tax advisers, provide individuals, families and business clients with comprehensive estate planning advice, individually suited to their specific needs, to ensure the orderly succession of assets to the next generation. We look at strategies for reducing or eliminating probate fees and minimizing or deferring tax on capital gains, to meet any testamentary and philanthropic objectives of our clients. We also advise on the possibility that those individuals may become unable to take care of themselves or manage their assets.
We regularly advise on:
a) Complex estate planning, including wills, alter ego, joint partner or other trusts;
b) Planning for potential incapacity including powers of attorney tailored to specific individual and corporate needs, nominations of committee and representation agreements;
c) Post-mortem tax planning;
d) Corporate and share structures, shareholder arrangements, and trusts for shares;
e) Estate planning for families of persons with disabilities and special needs and advising organizations which assist the disabled community;
f) Estate planning for disabled individuals;
g) Adult guardianship, including the appointment of a committee (personal or property guardian);
h) End-of-life decision making;
i) Representing and advising charities as beneficiaries of an estate or trust;
j) Passing of executor, trustee or committee accounts; and,
k) All aspects of trust and estate administration.
We would be happy to assist you in developing your estate plan, or to conduct a review of your current estate planning documents, or to assist you in probating a will or administering an estate in British Columbia.
Our lawyers also advise on:
a) Family-run businesses seeking orderly succession planning to smoothly transition their businesses to the next generation;
b) Newly created opportunities to defer income tax and avoid probate fees through joint partner, alter ego and other trusts;
c) The need for living wills, powers of attorney, nominations of committee and representation agreements;
d) Second marriage and common-law relationships, which can lead to sometimes-forgotten yet critical changes in wills, trusts and other estate or personal planning documents; and
e) Mentally or physically challenged adults require plans for ongoing care when their primary caregivers can no longer care for them.
Litigation
We represent and instruct counsel for beneficiaries, trustees, executors and other personal representatives, in disputes relating to wills and estates, including:
a) Actions to vary the terms of a will;
b) The validity of a will, including allegations of undue influence or incapacity of the deceased;
c) Court applications to interpret the provisions of a will;
d) Contested passing of executor, trustee or committee accounts; and,
e) Breach of trust actions.
Who We Help
Whether you’re a high-net-worth individual or family, the owners of a family-run business, an executor or trustee, a charity or not-for-profit organization, a parent of a disabled child or a disabled individual (as beneficiary), our extensive experience is here to help.
For a free initial estate planning consultation, please contact Paul S.O. Barbeau at (604) 688-4900 ext 201, or email me or connect with me on LinkedIn.