Services

REAL ESTATE

We are experienced in assisting clients with property interests in Land.  We offer legal services to provide for rights under:

  • Mortgages;
  • Life Estates;
  • Construction;
  • Developments;
  • Land Transfers;
  • Reverse Mortgages;
  • Surface Rights issues;
  • Rights of First Refusal;
  • Land Purchase Agreements;
  • Commercial Lease Agreements;
  • Residential Tenancy Agreements;
  • Residential Purchase Agreements;
  • Sale or Purchase of Condominiums; and
  • other instruments and arrangements to protect property rights.

CORPORATE/COMMERCIAL

We act as registered office for hundreds of companies. We assist our corporate clients in legal services relating to:

  • Rollovers;
  • Guarantees;
  • Partnerships;
  • Incorporation;
  • Joint Ventures;
  • Annual returns;
  • Amalgamations;
  • Land Purchases;
  • Asset Purchases;
  • Reorganizations;
  • Share Purchases;
  • Commercial Leases;
  • Hybrid Transactions;
  • Succession Planning;
  • Restrictive Covenants;
  • Corporate Governance;
  • Employment Agreements; and
  • Other Business Arrangements.

We have extensive experience in other corporate/commercial matters.

CRIMINAL DEFENSE

Public confidence in the justice system comes from assurance that only the guilty-absent a reasonable doubt- are punished. The great jurist Sir William Blackstone summarized this principle as follows:

All presumptive evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously; for the law holds it better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent party suffer (Commentaries on the Laws of England, St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1897).

We take care to ensure protection of your rights, in making a full answer and defense.  We appear regularly in Provincial Court to speak to criminal matters in Westlock, Barrhead, and Athabasca. Services we regularly provide include:

  • Bail Hearings;
  • Impaired Driving;
  • Driving Violations;
  • Regulatory Violations;
  • Hunting and Fishing Violations;
  • Violations under the Shipping Act;
  • Violations under the Criminal Code;
  • Violations under the Traffic Safety Act; and
  • Violations under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act;

We are well experienced in defending clients against a variety of other criminal and regulatory charges not specifically mentioned.  If you have been charged with an offense, you should remain silent and contact a lawyer without delay.

ESTATE PLANNING

We have decades of experience in planning the transfer of Estates to the next generation. Your Estate will consist of all the property held only by you.  Your Last Will and Testament will also direct who will take care of minor children or other dependents. We advise clients on how to leave their property to loved ones, provide for guardianship of minor children, and whether to pass certain property inside or outside of one’s Estate.

ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

When a person dies with a valid Will in place (Testate), we assist Executors in making an application for a Grant of Probate, which is a Court Order that empowers the Executor to administer the Estate according to the instructions of the Will.

When a person dies without a valid Will in place (Intestate), we can assist loved ones in obtaining a Grant of Administration, which allows the Estate to be administered according to the Wills and Succession Act (Alberta).

We are experienced in obtaining a Grants of Probate, Grants of Administration, and advising the Trustee(s) on how to distribute the assets of the Estate .

FAMILY

The Family Services we provide are typically limited to:

  • Uncontested Divorces;
  • Independent Legal Advice;
  • Letters of Permission for child to go abroad;
  • Prenuptial Agreements – Marriage Contracts;
  • Separation Agreements (Minutes of Settlement); and
  • Matrimonial Property Agreements – Post-nuptial Agreements – Marriage Contracts

We strive to achieve certainty for our clients.  We believe that family matters are best settled by a fair agreement wherever possible.  We draft, negotiate, review, and advise clients to ensure fair and certain resolutions.

We find that uncooperative parties who need court intervention are best served by a litigation firm who operates closer to the Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton. If your matter requires immediate court intervention, we can refer you to excellent family litigation counsel.

CIVIL LITIGATION

We often advise and assist clients in Civil Litigation matters.  If the parties involved are willing to be reasonable, we are often successful in negotiating a fair settlement without court action.

Provincial Court (Civil)

If you seek compensation of $50,000.00 or less (with some exceptions), your matter will probably be best heard in Provincial Court.  Although we do not typically act as Counsel of Record for civil matters, we are sometimes willing to assist clients, on a very limited scope, with drafting pleadings and orienting them through the process.

With some assistance, individuals are often able to take the first steps in Provincial Court procedure without a lawyer.

Queen’s Bench (Civil)

In Court of Queen’s Bench, the procedure is more complex.  In fact, only a lawyer may appear in Queen’s Bench on behalf of an Estate or a Corporation.

If your matter requires civil action in the Court of Queen’s Bench, we are able to refer you to excellent litigation counsel in Edmonton.