Wills & Estates

Estate planning, will preparation, incapacity planning, and estate administration in Nova Scotia, plus steady representation when an estate becomes contested.

Scope of work

• Wills & testamentary planning
• Powers of attorney
• Personal directives (health-care planning)
• Trusts & tax-efficient estate planning
• Probate & estate administration
• Executor & trustee advice
• Estate litigation & will challenges
• Dependants’ relief claims

A sound estate plan is one of the most considerate things a person can do for the people they leave behind. It spares a family from uncertainty and conflict at the worst possible time, ensures that an estate passes as intended, and, done well, does so as tax-efficiently as the law allows. The firm helps clients put that plan in place and helps families carry it out when the time comes.

Planning rests on a small set of essential documents. A valid will, prepared under Nova Scotia’s Wills Act, directs how an estate is distributed and names the executor who will administer it; dying without one means the estate is divided according to the fixed formula in the Intestate Succession Act, with no regard to what the deceased might have wished. Equally important are the documents that take effect during life: a power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act, which authorizes someone to manage financial affairs in the event of incapacity, and a personal directive under the Personal Directives Act, which sets out health-care wishes and names a delegate to give effect to them. For larger or more complex estates, trusts and lifetime structuring can protect beneficiaries and reduce tax, work that ties directly to the firm’s tax practice.

When someone passes away, the estate must be administered. The firm guides executors and administrators through the probate process under the Probate Act at the Probate Court of Nova Scotia: proving the will, gathering and valuing assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the estate while meeting the fiduciary duties the law imposes. Acting as an executor is a serious legal responsibility, and we advise executors so that they discharge it correctly and protect themselves from personal liability.

Estates are also, on occasion, contested. The firm acts in estate litigation: challenges to the validity of a will on grounds such as incapacity, undue influence, or improper execution; disputes over the interpretation of a will or the conduct of an executor; and dependants’ relief claims under Nova Scotia’s Testators’ Family Maintenance Act, which allows certain dependants to seek adequate provision from an estate. These are emotionally charged matters, and they are handled with both firmness and care.