Wills and Estates Lawyer
Ian S. Wright
If you have dependents – a significant other, a child, or an ageing family member, you need to get your will in order. You want your family to be cared for after you pass, and it’s better to get this done sooner rather than later. Upon your passing, we can assist the person whom you have chosen to be your executor in administering your will according to your wishes and instructions.
A will is a great start, but if you have significant holdings and need to plan for something more than a simple inheritance, you should consider our trust and estate planning services.
As crucial as your will is, it’s important to taking steps now to ensure that you have empowered the people you want to manage your property and, if necessary, make health care decisions for you in the event you become unable to make these decisions. We will assist in setting up trustees, power of attorneys, and attorneys for personal care.
Scott Petrie’s team of lawyers specializes in wills and estates that protect you and make sure the people you love and who depend on you get everything that’s coming to them. That means we’ll provide advise on minimizing government intervention and taxes and keep debt collectors at bay.
Ian Wright specializes in litigation, including issues such as:
- Accounting for both Estates and Attorneys
- You've received documents from the executor but are surprised by how little is in the estate
- Is a beneficiary disagreeing with your administration?
- Income/Assets seems to be missing from accounts?
- Estate disputes?
- Is the executor claiming a large compensation and you are uncertain of their entitlement?
Beneficiaries do not need to accept accounts as presented, in some cases you may want to challenge the account given.
If something is not adding up, contact Ian S. Wright for a consultation.
- Contesting a will
- A will was radically changed shortly before death
- A new lawyer unfamiliar with the testator drafts a new will
- The testator may have been unduly influenced
Do you believe the testator was not of sound mind or lacked testamentary capacity at the time the will was signed? Do you feel that someone was pressuring the testator in making or changing the will which didn’t reflect the testator’s true desires? These may be grounds for the will to be invalid. Some other reasons wills are commonly contested include:
If a business partner has recently passed away, and you need representation in dealing with estate trustees and attorneys, we will help. We have years of experience dealing with the issues that come up from wealth transfers and corporate reorganizations.
Claims by Dependents
It is not uncommon to find that the provisions made by a testator have not adequately provided for the dependents of the testator. When this occurs, certain people who were dependent on the testator have rights to claim a different distribution of the estate that as set out in the testator’s will. When claims such as these are made, we can and do provide assistance to the executors, to the beneficiaries and to the individuals making such claims to ensure that the legal rights of all individuals interested in the estate are protected and enforced.
If you have a specific legal issue and you’re unsure whether it fits into the categories above, feel free to call Scott Petrie and ask. We offer free consultations, so contact Ian today.