Wills & Estates
Ensure your assets are well-managed.
Wills
The main purpose of having a legally valid Last Will & Testament is to ensure your Estate is distributed, exactly as per your last wishes, to your designated beneficiaries.
However, without a Will your survivors (family, friends, etc…) ‘will’ run into serious problems. Problems usually arise at your Bank, motor registration and other government agencies.
Without a Will your Estate will require the appointment of an Administrator or Administratrix (which must be agreed to by surviving family members) to distribute your assets as per the Intestate Succession Act.
Disputes over the assets of your Estate can split a family forever. Hence, to ensure your family remains intact after your passing you ‘will’ need a legally, valid Will.
Enduring Power Of Attorney (EPOA)
Another very important document to ensure your legal and financial matters remain in order is an Enduring Power of Attorney. This is a document everyone should have in place in the event your ability to handle your legal and financial affairs becomes diminished due to many illnesses such as Alzheimers Disease, Stroke and Dementia. As well, accidents such as falls and motor vehicle accidents can leave one with Traumatic Brain Injury.
With an EPOA you get to choose who will have the legal authority to tend to your legal and financial affairs on your behalf so that you can have peace of mind prior to any decline in your cognitive abilities.
An EPOA can come into effect immediately or when your healthcare provider confirms that you are no longer able to manage your legal and financial affairs.
Advanced Health Care Directives (AHCD)
AHCD’s are written, legal instructions regarding your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Advance directives guide choices for doctors and caregivers if you’re terminally ill, seriously injured, in a coma, in the late stages of dementia or near the end of life. With an AHCD, while still competent, you choose a substitute decision maker who will carry out your wishes when the time comes.
Administration of Estates
When someone dies without a Will, leaving assets and survivors, their Estate must be administered in order for their Estate to be legally distributed to survivors.
Probate of Wills
Probate is the legal process that takes place after someone dies, that makes sure property and possessions are given to the correct people, and any taxes or debts owed are paid. If there’s a written will, the Supreme Court checks to ensure that it is valid, and then makes sure the directions in the will are carried out.
Applications For Guardianship
Guardianships can be for a child or a person with a disability and not able to manage their legal, medical and financial affairs.
Guardianship Of Persons With A Disability
Our Court of Appeal, in 2019 in a case named Re: A.A. has formulated a threshold test that Petitioners for Guardianship of the Person must meet before a Court will exercise its discretion:
(1) The person with the disability must be unable to understand the information that is relevant or necessary to make a decision about his or her personal care;
or
(2) The person with the disability must be unable to appreciate, or reason in respect of, the reasonably foreseeable consequences of those decisions or of failure to make those decisions.
Guardianship of a Child- To obtain guardianship of a child one must first make Petition to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland under Rule 56 of the Rules of the Supreme Court Rules, 1986.
At Mac-Law we can advice and help draft and/or file ALL preceding documents from Wills to a Petitions for Guardianship.
We can also provide the legal advice you may need for your Estate Planning.
Need Help?
If you have a question about the services offered by MAC-LAW PLC, we encourage you to contact our team. We look forward to speaking with you and helping you find the solution that you need.