Life & Legacy Planning

What is Estate Law/Planning all about?

Who needs to consider Life & Legacy Planning?

“Estate Law” is an area of law concerned legal arrangements to control your property and person both in this life and the next. We prefer to call it Life & Legacy Planning.

Every Nova Scotian who wants to optimally ensure that their person, their property, and their loved ones are protected to the extent possible under the law needs to think about Life & Legacy Planning.

Nobody knows when death will knock on their door and we all have responsibilities that won’t die when we do. A Will can help you take control of your assets on your death, as can trusts (both during your lifetime and on death).

Power of Attorney documents allows someone to give legal authority and power to a trusted individual to help us manage our financial responsibilities. Who is going to pay the bills and make sure taxes get filed? There are pitfalls to putting property or bank accounts into joint names and a power of attorney document is often the very best solution. There are different types of Power of Attorney documents and you should talk to a lawyer to appreciate the differences.

Personal Directives allow you to control how your body is treated and respected should you be in an accident or otherwise rendered unable to make your own decisions about your body. For example, no vegetarian wants to start being fed meat just because they were in a car accident.

and can help you minimizes taxes.

A Designation of Residence document can help prevent Social Services from coming after the value in your home should you need to go into long-term care.

Put simply, every Nova Scotian should think about Life & Legacy Planning.

If you cannot afford to see a lawyer or would like more information, I encourage you to visit the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia’s website for more information.

What about online alternatives?

You get what pay for with estate planning. Optimal estate planning solutions for individuals requires a deeply personal and professional assessment of their unique circumstances. Only a lawyer can provide a solution that fits; the off-the-rack, one-size-fits-all approach of online alternatives will simply never fit as snug and are more susceptible to errors and omissions.

What to expect at Burton?

The tailored solutions at Burton Law will be optimized to fit our clients’ circumstances. Our lower operating costs enable us to offer the superior product of a trusted lawyer while at the same time competing on cost with online alternatives.

Getting help from your lawyer shouldn’t have to be painful. David Burton has spent his entire legal career dealing with highly sensitive personal matters for his clients. This experience allows David to ask the tough questions, often on sensitive personal matters, in a calm and sensitive manner. So meet with David to get the life and legacy planning advice and results that you need without the agony!

What documents should every Nova Scotian consider getting?

Burton Law offers the full compliment of Nova Scotia estate planning documents, including:

 
 
 
  Excellent  
    
 Based on 11 reviews 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Nat 
 
June 21, 2023.
 
 
  
As a first-time home buyer we knew there would be a steep learning curve but David did a fantastic job at helping us understand each part of the process. We're so pleased to be able to work directly with a real estate lawyer with as much knowledge and experience as David Burton.
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Kyla MacKinnon 
 
February 28, 2023.
 
 
  
Taking care of these items can seem daunting, but we are so grateful for how stress free it was, thanks to Burton Law. Dave made everything clear and easy for us to understand. He is incredibly thorough, helpful and professional. I highly recommend using Burton Law to complete any items you need assistance with.
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Jason Timms 
 
July 5, 2022.
 
 
  
Burton Law was great.  Great communication, great skills, and through throughout the entire process.  I would be glad to work again with Dave.
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Maddison Dennison 
 
March 24, 2022.
 
 
  
Always a pleasure to deal with.
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Erica Baker 
 
March 15, 2022.
 
 
  
David was extremely helpful and honest. He took the time to really understand my case and gave me all of my options before proceeding. Highly recommend!
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Brent Hirtle 
 
March 9, 2022.
 
 
  
David was great to deal with. I would recommend him to anyone.

Brent Hirtle
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Gurkaran Chowdhry 
 
November 4, 2021.
 
 
  
David Burton was an absolute pleasure to work with. Closed two homes with him in the HRM, and he was very professional, very timely, and extremely patient and thorough. David took the time to make sure everything was crystal clear, and went in-depth in his review of all of the covenants of the properties and all of the details of the contracts. I normally find legal proceedings to be quite daunting, but was very comfortable throughout the process because of David's great attention to detail, patience, and commitment to his clients. Will definitely continue working with him moving forward!
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Raji Chowdhry 
 
October 4, 2021.
 
 
  
Highly competent Lawyer at a very competitive price.
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 leeza chowdhry 
 
October 1, 2021.
 
 
  
Working with David was a breeze. He helped us in every way to make our closing easy and with No hiccups. Guided us thru the whole process. Was very helpful and had answers to all our questions.
We would highly recommend David for all your legal needs.
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 Cameron Perry 
 
October 1, 2021.
 
 
  
David has been a great help with real estate and other legal concerns. He has always been responsive, knowledgable, and generous with his time. You'll be glad you found him!