Areas of Service - Wills, Estate Planning and Probate/Administration
Neufeld Legal P.C. can be reached by telephone at 403-400-4092 or email Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
To best serve our prospective clients, I thought it important to discuss how we look to service our clients in the areas of wills, estate planning, probate and administration, such that you might have a proper understanding of the arrangements involved and where added costs might be involved. For example, being based in Tuscany, which is in North West Calgary, if someone wishes us to conduct in-person meetings and undertake document signings, while providing a witness, with a patient at Calgary's newest hospital - South Health Campus, in SE Calgary, being over 50 km from our location, there is going to be an associated additional cost for this travel time, among other costs. At the same time, when it comes to probate, administration and estate litigation, we have undertaken such legal work for clients located throughout the province, as well as for clients who are based overseas and require legal representation by Alberta-based legal counsel, with the time and cost of our travel being borne by the client.
Preparation of Wills, Personal Directives, Powers of Attorney, Trust and other Estate Planning Documents. As previously indicated, I am based in Tuscany, which is in North West Calgary, such that my preference is to conduct in-person meetings in NW Calgary, although initial meetings in downtown Calgary or the vicinity of the airport are also viable options. My preference is for in-person meetings to discuss the specifics of wills and other estate planning documents, as this enables me to more effectively work through options and various scenarios, with standardized forms that ask the client to fill out information being far too prone to overlook important aspects and not direct the client in the correct direction (having heard the frustration of far too many individuals who have gone this route in having their will and other documents prepared). Wills and other estate planning documents should be specific to your personal needs, desires and circumstances, which is best handled with in-person meetings and one-on-one discussions, such that we might identify what you specifically require and suits you best. Meanwhile, for signing documents, you will need to consider the added expense associated with our travel time and other costs (i.e., hospital parking), as well as the need for an additional witness (i.e., two witnesses required for a last will & testament, power of attorney), such that you need to either arrange for that additional witness (who meets the criteria set out in the Alberta Wills and Succession Act, Alberta Powers of Attorney Act, etc.) or accomodate the additional cost of our having added witnesses attend for the signing.
Probate, Administration and Estate Litigation. When dealing with the estate of someone that has passed away, provided that our legal representation is limited to matters properly before the Alberta Court of King's Bench, I should be in a position to undertake such legal representation throughout Alberta. Naturally, there are travel-associated costs that can arise with such legal representation, which grows increasingly when the legal work takes me outside of Calgary, such that you need to aware of those added costs; although technology has fortunately made many processes both with court proceedings, with many capable of being done remotely, and probate and administration, which can oftentimes be undertaken entirely via electronic means, enabling us to eliminate the need for travel in those instances (and thereby avoiding the attendant costs therewith). As such, it is worthwhile to discuss these core elements early on, as the travel expenses that might have been incurred even a few short years prior may well have been eliminated (or substantially reduced) by advances in technology.
Hopefully this has provided some useful insights into how we are capable of servicing your legal needs when it comes to wills, estate planning, probate, administration and estate litigation in Alberta. We understand the importance of being cost-consious as to travel costs and would prefer to be upfront and on the same page, especially as I seek to provide the optimal level of legal service when it comes to meeting your specific legal needs, recognizing that servicing clients in NW Calgary and Bearspaw can differ from clients that require myself to travel 50 km, 100 km or more for purposes of meetings, document signings and/or court appearances, with my intent being to provide transperancy at the outset with respect to additional travel costs that might arise in addition to legal costs for legal work.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com or 403-400-4092, such that we can hopefully eliminate any surprises with respect to added travel costs, while being cost-conscious as to our legal fees and the costs attendant with wills, estate planning, probate, administration and estate litigation.
NW Calgary includes Tuscany, Scenic Acres, Silver Springs, Royal Oak, Rocky Ridge, Bowness, Crestmont, Greenwood/Greenbriar, Haskayne, Osprey Hill, Valley Ridge, Ambleton, Arbour Lake, Beacon Heights, Brentwood, Charleswood, Citadel, Collingwood, Dalhousie, Edgemont, Glacier Ridge, Hamptons, Hawkwood, Lynx Ridge, Montgomery, Ranchlands, St. Andrews Heights, Sunnyside, University Heights, Upper North Haven, Varsity, Varsity Acres, Varsity Estates, Varsity Village and Watermark at Bearspaw.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.