For many Canadians who have not taken any step towards hiring an attorney to help them with estate planning, searching for the right legal professional may seem like a difficult task. However, if you are willing to invest significant time and effort you can find a lot of estate lawyers in Toronto who practice a wide variety of Estate Law in your province.
Estate planning can, at times, be a complicated task that involves figuring out a lot of deeply personal and, usually emotional matters, such as how to protect the interests of children or family members with special needs, and how to keep assets protected against threats from creditors, family law claims, and litigation from those who seek a bigger share of your estate. Having someone by your side who is knowledgeable and experienced to clearly understand your wishes and figure out how to protect your interests can greatly help to make the entire process bearable for you.
Here’s what you need to do to ensure you select an estate planning lawyer who will be the most suitable for you.
Choose an attorney who has particular specialization in probate and/or estate planning
Every attorney has expertise on a particular area of law. In matters of probate or estate planning, you’d want to limit your search to estate attorneys who are Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Certified Specialists. The professional certification signifies that an attorney has taken additional courses in the area of trusts and estates, has passed a lengthy written qualifying exam and has had at least five of years of experience practicing in this area of law.
Estates and trusts law in Canada require attorneys who practice in this field to be specialized and obtain basic instruction on these topics. In addition, continuing legal education and experience is also necessary in order to keep up with the changes on legal and tax implications, state rules for intestate succession, and various estate planning and estate administration issues.
Evaluate your needs to identify what type of probate and/or estate lawyer you need
Probate law and estate law are two different fields of practice. While both probate lawyers and estate attorneys understand the same substantive law, each differ in their area of practice. Probate lawyers focus more on litigation and can help you with matters that involve the court, such as establishing the authenticity of a will, arranging a guardianship for an incapacitated person, and even prosecuting or defending your will if contested. Estate lawyers, on the other hand, deal more with transactional activities that involve planning for contingencies arising from incapacity or death. Many probate and estate lawyers choose to specialize in one area over the other, but not on both. On the other hand, there are some who do focus their practice on both areas of law.
Evaluate your needs and determine if you need a probate lawyer or an estate planning attorney in order to make sure that you will hire an attorney with the proper expertise and experience to handle your specific legal matter.
Even if you have a relatively simple estate, it is always a good idea to consult with estate lawyers in Toronto. Estate and trusts laws in Canada are strongly influenced by so many variables and factors that you may easily fail to think carefully about before making a decision. Hiring the right attorney to meet your specific requirements will make a huge difference in preventing a variety of legal complications and unnecessary expense.
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