June 26, 2018, was a big day in my office?

Why?

Well on this day we were told that another bunch of Alberta Community papers was being shut down. Six local community papers to be exact. Now you may ask yourself why does a lawyer who spends a couple of hours a day online care that a bunch of Alberta newspapers were shut down. I mean I live in St. Albert. We have the most significant community newspaper in Alberta - The St. Albert Gazette!

The answer is simple,  myself and my...

How would you react if I told you that after you depart, your children would never speak to each other again because you left the house to all three of them? What if I told you that your son, who was named your executor, took control of all your assets and his siblings had to sue him to get the money back? You may say to me “No! Not in my family!” Au contraire. In my 18 years of practising law and managing estates, I have witnessed many cases ending in permanent damage within...

We recently had a client who called our office looking for help.

Her husband had passed away three months before and did not have a will. They owned some collector vehicles that had considerable value and when she went to transfer the insurance into her name, the Insurance Company refused to do so because she was not the registered owner of the vehicle.

When she contacted the local Registry Agent, she was told that they would complete the transfer only with a Death Certificate and a copy of...

For a lot of people in St Albert or Edmonton, Law offices have a formal environment that can feel intimidating. So here at Estate Connection, we have been hard at work over the last six weeks creating a space that shows our clients that while we are a professional Law Firm, we like to give hugs with our handshakes!

Our Waiting Room

Probably our favourite part of the new office. We wanted clients to have a space where they could watch TV and have a coffee or water while waiting for their...

It depends if the person died with out making a will that has Guardianship provisions in it. With a will the Guardian listed can act. Without a will, the family members would need to apply to court and have a Justice look at the situation and choose who would be the Guardian.

We all hope that when we are gone, our family members will work together to settle our estate.  Unfortunately, our office sees many estates where the testator created a Will filled with some common problems.

One of the most common problems we see is where a testator appoints all their children as their Executors.  This is a mistake.

If your family members do not get along, they are not going to suddenly be able to get along and work together after your...

The demand for professional Trust and Estate administration is an area that is experiencing significant growth. This growth is caused by a number of factors including our aging population, our modern family structures, and the vast distances that spread family members apart.

Estate professionals are being asked to step in and help families resolve emotionally charged family disputes.

There are several Trust companies that provide Estate services to clients in the Edmonton area. While most...

When couples split up, the last thing they’re thinking is, “What happens if I die?” Breakups are emotionally difficult times, with many hard decisions. But the ramifications of a split are magnified when the parties do not go through with a divorce.

Many people think the mere act of “separating” will result in cancelling their partners in their Wills, estate plans, powers of attorney and beneficiary designations. This is not 100 per cent correct.

Separation =...

Estate Planning is about protecting what matters the most. Over the course of my 18 years practicing law I have come across a wide variety of property that needs to be included in our clients’ Will.

Recently we had to deal with a unique type of “property”… the cryogenically frozen embryos and sperm of our clients. With cryogenic freezing, it is possible for children to be conceived well after a parent has died. However, when such a child is born, many probate and...

Many new parents think that they should write or re-write their Wills after the birth of a child and for many couples this is the first time they have written a Will.

One of the most important issue new mothers and fathers need to consider is who will be the guardian of their child if the unthinkable happens to both parents. This is not fun stuff to consider, but necessary. You do not want your family going through a traumatic and costly custody dispute on top of dealing with the grief they...