There are thousands of wills and estates lawyers in Barrie who
practice a wide variety of Estate Law. Searching for the right one who can help
you put together a foolproof estate plan may seem very challenging. But the
task can be made easier, with a little help from several resources in your
state you can easily find an attorney who can be a good fit for you.
Here are some reliable and trustworthy sources you can make use of:
Contact a lawyer from your local, county, and state bar associations
Each state has a bar association, for example in Ontario, there is
The Ontario Bar Association (OBA), a branch of the The Canadian Bar Association
(CBA) which lists about two-thirds of all practicing lawyers in Canada.
Another resource you can use is The Simcoe County Law Association (SCLA) which
lists attorneys and law firms specifically located in Barrie, Ontario and
in other surrounding areas of Simcoe County.
Lawyers located in a certain city or county may also have their own
bar associations, take for example the following localized groups:
- Ontario Trial Lawyers
Association(OTLA), an association of lawyers acting for plaintiffs with
attorneys from Ontario as well as out-of-province members from
Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec,
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and even in the United
States.
- Simcoe Trusts and
Estates Lawyers Group (STELA), a group of wills, trusts and estates
lawyers in Simcoe County.
- Toronto Lawyers
Association, an organization for lawyers practicing in the City of Toronto
Also check out the membership directory of national associations
like The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Law Society of Upper Canada
which can provide a very large database of member lawyers and their practice
areas. You can check each lawyer’s disciplinary history, any restrictions on
his or her practice, and other relevant information that can assist you with
your legal problems.
Keep in mind that not every state certifies lawyers who specialize
in trusts and estates or estate planning. Find out if your state does, and
always go for lawyers with certification for added assurance of his or her
qualification.
Get personal recommendations
Ask for several references from family members, friends or other
people who have personal connections with you like co-workers who have hired a
lawyer to help them create an estate plan or have an attorney who is in charge
of their estate or trust. Make sure to talk with them about their own personal
opinions about working with these lawyers, such as what things to look for,
what questions to ask and how did they know if the attorney was the right fit
for them. It’s likely that you would give these recommendations priority
because they come from people who matter to you and whom you trust.
Referrals from other professionals
Estate lawyers usually work together with other professionals
particularly those that assist in fiduciary and trustee roles, including
investment advisors, bankers, tax specialists and real estate professionals. If
you know a banker or have a financial planner, ask them if they know a good
lawyer they can refer to you who can help with estate planning.
Ask other lawyers you've worked with
Another good source to get several referrals is from other lawyers
that you’ve worked with. A business lawyer whom you’ve hired to help you setup
your business or a real estate lawyer who helped you review a contract when you
were buying a home would surely be able to give you one or more names of
lawyers with this particular area of expertise.
A word of caution, not all wills and estates lawyers in Barrie can capably handle probate and estate matters. Take time to choose carefully until you narrow your list down to three or four prospective candidates. Then, take even more time to do enough research and background check on the few candidates you have on your list until you figure out which one is the best for you.
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