Estate Planning for Multiple Jurisdictions

If you own property (or are likely to own property) in more than one province, or in a Canadian province as well as a state in the US, or perhaps even in a country outside of North America, such as China, it's a good idea to get estate planning legal advice from lawyers who are licensed in those other jurisdictions. If that applies to you when you're preparing a will with me, please let me know. I may be able to refer you to a lawyer who who licensed in that other jurisdiction. I know lawyers who are licensed in such jurisdictions as the Province of Quebec, the Province of British Columbia, the United States, China, the Philippines, etc.

It is especially important to obtain estate planning advice from an American lawyer if you own property in the United States, as the US, unlike Canada, has an estate tax. It's also important to get estate planning advice from a lawyer in British Columbia or Ontario in you own property in BC or Ontario. In those provinces, probate fees are based on the size of the estate (unlike in Alberta) and therefore people often engage in various estate planning strategies meant to minimize the payment of probate fees.