Estate Planning Attorney in Vancouver

Handling Your Wills, Trusts & Guardianships

Careful estate planning can help ensure that your assets and property are distributed according to your wishes, and protect the interests of the people closest to you. At Beaty Hatch PC, our attorneys assist clients with wills, trusts, and guardianships. We have more than 65 years of combined experience and extensive legal knowledge to provide services that are tailored to your needs.

Protecting Your Loved Ones Using Wills & Trusts

A will is a legal document that conveys your wishes about who will receive your property, assets, and other valuable belongings when you die. When drafting a will, it is important to seek advice from an experienced attorney to ensure that the will provides clear instructions and is executed according to the law to ensure that it is valid and reduce disputes. In addition to wills, many people create a trust to protect assets and reduce estate taxes.

We help clients establish trusts, such as:

• Revocable living trusts – This type of trust enables your estate to avoid the probate process. Our attorneys can assist you with creating a trust and transferring assets into the trust.
• Irrevocable trusts – When an estate is worth more than the amount that is exempt from estate taxes, this type of trust can protect your beneficiaries and reduce estate taxes.
• Special needs trusts – This type of trust is designed to ensure that a disabled beneficiary benefits from the funds in the trust without losing essential government benefits.

Our Vancouver estate planning attorneys can explain the advantages and disadvantages of each type of trust, evaluate your situation, and recommend the tools that are most appropriate for your situation and goals.

Legal Advice about Guardianships

Courts may appoint a guardian to protect an individual with a mental or physical disability who is unable to manage his or her own affairs. While guardianships protect the interests of disabled people, the individual may lose some basic rights. The process can be complicated, but our attorneys can guide you every step of the way and represent your interests.