Estate Lawyer in Calgary
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Estate lawyers deal with all matters arising from wills and estates law. These can include such things as wills, living wills, powers of attorney, springing powers of attorney, enduring powers of attorney, guardianship and trusteeship matters, dependent adult matters, applications for probate, tax planning and even funeral arrangements.
Alberta Estate Laws
Alberta estate lawyers need to be well versed in many different areas of law. Not all estate law matters fit in nice little boxes. Life is complicated. Alberta has some of the most advanced estate laws in the world.
Here is a listing of some of the laws that are involved in the day to day affairs of Alberta estate lawyers. Talk to a lawyer!
Wills and Succession Act – This major piece of legislation (over 125 sections, more than 40 pages if printed) sets out many of the laws regarding:
- Wills – including the making, altering, revocation and interpretation of wills in Alberta,
- Survivorship Rules,
- Distribution of Intestate Estates,
- Designation of Beneficiaries,
- Family Maintenance and Support,
- General Rules
- Consequential Amendments
Surrogate Rules and Forms – These very detailed rules (117 sections, 3 Schedules plus some 40 pages of forms) contain many of the laws and estate forms that come into play once someone has died. Part 1 deals with what they call Non Contentious matters and Part 2 deals with what they call Contentious matters. Here is a summary of some of the table of contents of the Surrogate Rules to provide an idea of the topics covered:
- Part 1 — Non‑contentious Matters
Division 1 — Application for Grant
Division 2 — Administration of the Estates of Minors
Division 3 — Making, Altering or Revoking of a Will by a Minor
- Part 2 — Contentious Matters
Division 1 — General
Division 1.1 — Applications under Various Acts
Division 2 — Proceedings on Caveats
Division 3 — Formal Proof of a Will
Division 4 — Proof of Death
Division 5 — Claims on an Estate
Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act – This is the legislation that governs what they used to call “Dependent Adults” These are adult people who, broadly speaking, require either Guardianship or Trusteeship assistance in their lives, or both.
Power of Attorney Act – This is the legislation that governs the making of powers of attorney. Estate lawyers do a lot of these.
Personal Directives Act – This is the legislation that governs the making of personal directives. Estate lawyers do a lot of these.
Public Trustee Act – If a person needs a “trustee” it is often a relative or close friend who gets appointed. Sometimes however there is no suitable or available relative or friend and so, in Alberta, there has been created the “Office of the Public Trustee” which performs various functions, including being involved as trustee in many cases for infant children. Estate lawyers are frequently involved with the Public Trustee’s Office.
Alberta Rules of Court – These are the general Rules of Court that apply to all matters in Alberta. They are huge.
Calgary estate and probate lawyer.
