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Services & Prices |
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We specialize in Wills, Probate and related areas of law. Over the past 16 years we have helped thousands of customers with Wills, Estate Planning, Probate and Estate Administration. We offer the following services:
Hourly Rates - Disbursements - Sales Tax - Methods of Payment Customer Testimonials & Examples of Our Work
Wills, Estate Planning & TrustsEstate Planning is the process of making sure that your assets pass to your family and other beneficiaries on your death the way you want with a minimum of stress and effort on the part of those you leave behind while minimizing taxes and the potential for disputes. Estate Planning usually involves making a Will and reviewing your assets (how they are owned and who you have named as beneficiary of your life insurance/RRSP, etc.). Estate Planning can be more complex and require purchasing additional life insurance, transferring assets, restructuring a family businesses, setting up trust (note that Standard Wills include a trust for any young beneficiaries), etc. We include Estate Planning advice with every Will we prepare. We will review your assets with you and advise you about step you can take to improve your estate planning. This advice often has the potential to save your family thousands of dollars in legal costs and tax after your gone and occasionally save your thousands of dollars towards your retirement. We can help you whether your circumstances and wishes are simple or complex. PricesMost people just need a Standard Will.
Some people need more than a Standard Will. We can assist you with estate planning and preparing Wills and/or trusts no matter how complicated your circumstances or wishes. However, pricing of complex Wills and/or Trusts and estate planning is based on hourly rates. Click here for some examples of circumstances that need more than a Standard Will. More Information - FormsClick here for more information about our Wills, Estate Planning and Trust preparation services. Download our Estate Planning Guide New Customer Information Form - Will - Single New Customer Information Form - Will - Married or Common Law Click here for general information about Wills, Estate Planning & Trusts. Probate, Letters of Administration and Executor ServicesProbate is a court procedure to confirm the validity of a deceased person's Will. Probate is required whenever a deceased person owned real estate or any other valuable asset (excluding assets that pass directly through joint ownership or life insurance, RRSP, etc. beneficiary designations). Probate can usually be avoided if you leave everything to your spouse and have a good estate plan. Probate is usually required if you do not have a spouse at the time you die and you own valuable assets. If you don't have a Will then your family will have to apply to the court for a Grant of Letters of Administration in order to be appointed as the Administrator of your estate and your estate will go to your next of kin. Being an Executor or Administrator is hard work with a lot of complexity and risk. We can help. PricesGrant of ProbateLegal fees charged for a Grant of Probate are based on the amount of work required calculated using hourly rates. No two grant applications are the same however legal fees usually range from around $2,000 - $4,000. However, a Grant of Probate can be difficult and more expensive if there are problems with the Will (often the case with legal will kits). For most estates we will bill for the legal work after the Grant of Probate has been issued and it can be paid from the estates funds. Grant of Letters of AdministrationA Grant of Letters of Administration is a similar court process to a Grant of Probate and the cost range is similar. However, a Grant of Letters of Administration can be difficult and more expensive if the deceased person had unpaid debts or if there are several next of kin (particularly if they don't get along). Probate FeesThe court charges a fee to process a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration based on the size of the estate. The current fee is $350 plus 1.4% of the value of the estate in excess of $50,000. For example an estate worth $250,000 would incur a probate fee of $3,150. More InformationClick here for more information about our Probate, Executor and Estate Administration services. Download our Guide for Executors - Grant of Probate Download our Guide for Administrators - Grant of Letters of Administration New Customer Information Form - Probate & Grant of Letters of Administration Asset & Liability Checklist - to help you gather the information about the deceased's assets and debts required by the court Click here for general information about Probate, Letters of Administration and being an Executor/Administrator. Incapacity Planning & Health Care Decision MakingIncapacity law is the law regarding making decisions for people who are not able to make decisions for themselves. The law is complex and has undergone significant changes recently. Incapacity law is divided into two distinct areas: decisions about assets (money, real estate, pensions, etc.) and health care decisions. AssetsAn Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document you can use to appoint a trusted family member or friend to make decisions for you about your assets if you become incapable in the future. You can only make an Enduring Power of Attorney while you are mentally capable. The word "attorney" means the person you appoint to do things for you. It does not mean a lawyer. If you don't have an Enduring Power of Attorney and you become mentally incompetent then your family may need to apply to court to be appointed your Committee. This would be necessary if they want to make a major decision for you regarding your assets such as selling your house. A Committee application is a complex, expensive, time consuming court procedure. Health CareA Representation Agreement is a legal document you can use to appoint a trusted family member or friend to make health care decisions for you if you become incapable in the future. An Advance Directive is a legal document you can use to tell your health care team directly what your wishes are regarding certain medical decisions. This document is commonly known as a 'living will' but only became legal in British Columbia on September 1, 2011. You can only make a Representation Agreement or Advance Directive while you are mentally capable. If you don't have a Representation Agreement or Advance Directive, your doctor will appoint your next of kin to be your health care decision maker in the event you are not able to make a health care decision for yourself. Prices - Documents purchased in addition to a Will
Prices - Documents purchased on their own (no Will is purchased)
Prices - Committee ApplicationLegal fees charged for a Committee application are based on the amount of work required for the specific case calculated using hourly rates. A simple Committee application often results in $3,000 - $5,000 in legal fees. There is usually around $1,000 in out of pocket expenses including court filing fees and fees payable to the Public Guardian and Trustee to review the application. More InformationClick here for more information about Incapacity Planning & Health Care Decision Making. Estate DisputesOccasionally disputes arise regarding sates. A deceased person's spouse or children may try to sue the estate using the Wills Variation Act if they are not happy with how the Will says the estate is to be divided up. If the deceased person's last Will seems suspicious, a beneficiary of an older Will or next of kin who would inherit if there was no Will may try to contest the suspicious Will to prove it is not valid. Beneficiaries of an Estate are sometime unhappy with the performance of the Executor and can use the court to enforce their rights. PricesLegal services regarding estate disputes are provided at hourly rates. More InformationClick here for more information about Estate Disputes. Initial ConsultationYou can meet with a lawyer for a no commitment initial consultation. You can discuss a legal matter regarding Wills, Probate or related areas of law. The lawyer can review your court documents or an old Will, notarize documents, etc. The maximum time is one hour and the fee is $150. Please call to book an appointment if you would like an initial consultation. We are not available on a drop in basis. Services Not OfferedWe specialize in Wills, Probate and related areas of law. We are not able to offer the following services:
We recommend you search YellowPages.ca for a lawyer providing the services you require. You can also try the Canadian Bar Association's lawyer referral service. Hourly Rates - Disbursements - Sales Tax - Methods of PaymentMost services are billed for on the basis of hourly rates. Our current hourly rates are:
We also for out of pocket expenses we incur on our clients' behalf (known as disbursements) such as court filing fees, land title search fees, courier charges, etc. We do not mark up any disbursements, we only charge you what we pay. We don't charge any overhead disbursements such as file opening fees, word processing fees, long distance charges, etc. HST is payable on all legal services and most disbursements. Unless we agree otherwise, all invoices are due within 30 days and interest of 2% per month is charged on overdue invoices. We accept payment by personal cheque, bank draft, Visa and MasterCard. We do not accept cash. You can also pay your bill online using your credit card. Click here for online payments. Customer Testimonials & Examples of Our Work |
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Dwayne Pommer Law 250-564-5300 ph 1-866-333-9455 toll free 1-866-342-9586 fax (local & out of town) 578 Central Street East, Prince George, BC, V2M3B7 |