The best piece of advice I could ever give..

The best advice I could ever give a member of the public who needs a lawyer is to find a specialist in that area. I know I've said this before, but it can't be said too often.

Today I reviewed documents (Will, Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive) that had been prepared by a lawyer for a client. The client wasn't happy with them and brought them to us for a second opinion. The documents were awful. They were also legally ineffective. There's no way the documents would have done what the client wanted. There were blatant mistakes and omissions and that client's estate, in my opinion, would end up in court with these documents.

The lawyer who drew up the documents is probably really great in some other areas of law, but not in Will drafting. Lawyers are supposed to know their own limitations in terms of what work they accept from clients. I don't defend people on criminal charges or help them with their divorces, because I don't know how to do that. We are all supposed to stick with what we know.

For your own sake, and that of your family members that you will leave behind when you pass away, please look for a specialist in Wills and Estates when you need a will prepared. It might or might not cost more, but you'll be getting a top-notch document that is as bulletproof as wills can be. If you don't know anyone suitable, leave me a message here (I won't publish it) and I'll give you some names. My name won't be one of them, since I work in-house for Scotia Private Client Group, but I can certainly help you find someone skilled.