Wills & Estates
Wills & Estates in Calgary
Planning ahead gives you peace of mind knowing your loved ones and assets are protected. At Legal Edge, our experienced lawyers in Calgary provide clear, practical guidance in both English and Spanish.
Wills
A Will is a legal document that allows you to give direction on how your estate should be managed in the event of death. Your Will includes the appointment of an executor, who ensures that your wishes are followed. You will also name beneficiaries who receive the assets of your estate; and, if you have minor children, you are able to appoint a guardian for your children in your Will.
A Will provides you with certainty and peace of mind that your loved ones will be properly taken care of in the event of your death.
Enduring Power of Attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document wherein you appoint someone to manage your finances and property in the event that you become incapacitated, due to accident or illness.
If you do not have an Enduring Power of Attorney and you become incapacitated, someone would be required to make an application for Trusteeship over you. A Trusteeship Application can be costly, and the person who becomes your trustee may not have been your first choice to manage and control your finances.
To ensure that your property and financial affairs are properly managed on your behalf if you ever become incapacitated, it is important that you have an Enduring Power of Attorney.
Personal Directives
A Personal Directive is a legal document wherein you are able to appoint someone to make personal decisions on your behalf in the case of incapacity. These decisions may include things like medical decisions, living and working arrangements, and end of life decisions.
Making your wishes clear in a legal document can lift a heavy burden from your loved ones in the event of your incapacitation. If you do not have a Personal Directive and you become incapacitated, your loved ones would need to make a court application for Guardianship in order to make any decisions regarding long term care. This can be costly and it may result in someone other than who you would have chosen making decisions for you.
Probate
If you were appointed as an executor or executrix for a deceased individual, we can help you through the process of getting a Grant of Probate. The estate — not the executor — is responsible for any probate and legal fees.
What is Probate?
Probate is essentially court approval of a Will. The Surrogate Court in Alberta can grant a Grant of Probate — essentially a court order confirming that the attached Will is the final Will of the deceased and that the court approves it.
Is Probate necessary?
You typically will require probate if the deceased has significant assets with financial institutions, or if there is real property other than property registered as joint tenants.
Grant of Administration
A Grant of Administration (or Letters of Administration) can be applied for from the Surrogate Court if the deceased individual never had a will prepared. There is little difference between a Grant of Administration and Probate.
Legislation will dictate how a deceased person's estate is distributed without a will. We can help you apply for a Grant of Administration and administer an estate without a will.