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WILLS and ESTATE PLANNING 

Plans that reflect your life and protect the people in it (including you).

Estate planning isn't only about having a Will and what happens when you die. It's about making sure the people and things you care about are looked after at every stage of life.
A good estate plan is one you understand. We take the time to walk you through your options, address your questions and craft documents that reflect your current and anticipated living situations.
WHY IT MATTERS

Estate planning is an umbrella concept; it's a lifelong process, not a one-time task.

Many people put off estate planning because it feels overwhelming, morbid, or like something they can deal with later. But having the right documents in place is one of the most practical things you can do for yourself and the people you love.

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Whether you're getting your first Will sorted, updating documents after a major life change, or putting a more comprehensive plan in place, we'll help you figure out what you may need or want.

WHAT WE PREPARE

The main documents that make up an estate plan.

Will

Sets out how your estate is to be distributed after your death and names a personal representative (executor) to follow your plan and carry out your wishes.

Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)

Authorizes a person you trust to manage your financial, real estate and legal affairs if you become mentally or physically incapable.

Personal Directive (PD)

Appoints someone you trust to make personal, day-to-day and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so.

Trust

A legal arrangement to hold and manage assets for the benefit of another person. Often used for minor children or dependents. Can be either a separate document from the Will or drafted within the Will (testamentary trust).

Codicil or Amendment

A legal amendment to an existing Will, EPA or PD. Used when a minor update is needed without replacing the entire document. Think: minor substitutions.

Transfer of Land

Transfer of real property as part of your estate plan. For example, adding a spouse to the home title or adult children to the cabin title.

HOW IT WORKS

A straightforward process from first conversation
to signed documents.

01

Reach out

Contact us to start the conversation.

02

Strategy meeting

A 60 to 90-minute meeting with our lawyer, Kendall, to talk through your situation, your questions, your wishes, and what documents make sense for you. We sit down with you. No daunting questionnaire format.

03

Drafting and review

We prepare your documents and give you time to review everything carefully before your signing meeting. Ask us questions. Review in your own comfort zone.

04

Signing meeting

A 30 to 45-minute meeting with Kendall and one of our team members to sign your documents properly. You leave with fully executed originals and a digital copy.

PACKAGE PRICING

Flat-fee packages to capture the most common situations.

Cairns Law uses flat-fee packages for the most common situations. Most individuals complete their full estate plan with three legally executed documents; Most couples opt for the packages with six documents.

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Looking for a standalone document (e.g. a Will, EPA, PD on its own, or amendment to)? We do that too.

CAIRNS LAW STUDENT ESTATE PLAN​ 

FIT FOR

→ 18–26 yr old AND currently enrolled in or recently completed (within 1 year) a post-secondary, trade or apprenticeship program.

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You're just starting out. Life after high school graduation, in post-secondary, or freshly into your first real job. You've decided to be the kind of person who has their affairs in order. Good call.

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This package covers the full set of essential documents (Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Personal Directive) for straightforward situations: uncomplicated assets, no dependents, and a clear sense of who you'd want in charge.

 

New grad pricing automatically applied to eligible individuals.

FIT FOR

→ 18+ with mental capacity, desire to estate plan and to keep things simple.

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NOT FIT FOR

→ students or fresh grads. See pkg A.

→ individuals with minors or dependents. See pkg C.

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Your situation is more established. Maybe you own property, have a spouse or partner, or just have more to think through than you did ten years ago. Or you're into seniorhood and life is keeping a steadier pace. This package covers your full set of documents (Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Personal Directive) for situations that are more developed but still clean and uncomplicated.

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FIT FOR​

→ Parents with minor children

→ Blended families

→ Estates with vulnerable beneficiaries​

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This is the full picture. For you individually, or for you and your spouse / partner done together. Three documents per person (Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Personal Directive).

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You've probably been putting off "getting a Will done" because it felt like a big project. It is, a little. But you'll leave the appointments with everything signed and nothing left on this list.

 

New parent pricing automatically applied to eligible individuals or couples with any child aged newborn to 5 years.​​

OUR CURRENT OFFER

Alberta Teachers' Association member discount

Active ATA members and educational support staff receive a 25% courtesy discount on estate planning services. Valid with an active ATA card for the current school year. Discount cannot be combined with our other offers.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I work during the day. Do you offer evening appointments?
A: Yes - select evening and weekend appointments are available. Send your request and we'll do our best to find something that works around your schedule.

Q: Do you provide the witness?
A: Absolutely. We handle the full signing package from our office in Sherwood Park, AB. For off-site or remote signings, we'll either bring the witness, arrange a witness or walk you through exactly how to do it yourself. 

Off-site includes home-based, assisted-living or hospital-based appointments in Sherwood Park, Strathcona County, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Beaumont, Leduc and surrounding Alberta communities.

Remote signings are suitable for our clients based in Calgary, Canmore, Fort McMurray and other Alberta cities and towns.

Q: Why do I need a Will?
A: Without a Will, Alberta law decides how your estate is distributed and the arbitrary defaults may not reflect what you would have wanted. Especially not with the back-up options.

A Will lets you choose who receives your home, vehicles, funds in the bank, rings, collections and everything else. A Will lets you nominate who looks after your children if they're minors, and lets you name successor subscribers for any RESPs. It lets you decide who carries out your wishes - who is part of and writes the conclusion to your life story.

Wills also make an already difficult time considerably easier for the people you leave behind. To say the least.

Q: Why do I need an estate plan?
A: An estate plan (a Will with an Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive) goes further. It ensures you have appointed legal representatives to support you in times of need - which are usually unpredictable and urgent. A heart attack. A stroke. A degenerative illness. An estate plan lets you nominate guardians for your minor children if you are ever incapacitated, and lets you narrate your personal wishes: getting outside if you cannot get outside yourself, your position on medical assistance in dying, what matters to you when you can no longer speak for yourself. 

Estate plans also make already difficult times considerably easier for you, for the people taking care of you, and for the people you eventually leave behind. To say the least.

Q: What does a Will or estate plan cost?
A: We work on a flat-fee basis for the majority of our clients, so you will always know the cost upfront. Inquire about estate planning costs.

Q: Should I just use a registry Will kit or online service like Willful or AI?
A: Our take, after assessing many Frankenstein-eque kits and DIY documents: absorb at your own risk and cost.

We were as curious as you. Online services work for some people, and we would rather you have something than nothing. But a Will generated by an online services platform is only as good as the answers you feed it. If your situation involves a lack of understanding of Alberta and worldwide estate law, blended families, minor children, significant assets, a business, or anything outside the straightforward, the gaps tend to show up later when it is too late to fix them. 

Online services also don't offer the full estate plan that Albertans actually need. Cairns Law provides practical, personalized documents that a computer-generated output simply cannot replicate.

On cost: we have done the homework. We know what is available on the market, we have factored in the full scope of what we provide, and we have priced accordingly. It is a fair price point.

Q: Do I really need an Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive? Are those upsells?
A: Absolutely not.  An EPA and PD are proactive documents - just like your  Will. Without them, your fate defaults to Alberta's Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act and regulations.  A court appointed legal representative makes decisions on your behalf without your pre-considered guidance.

These are not upsells. We are here to provide what people genuinely need, and there is no value to us in recommending something you don't. You decide what is right for your situation. We will be here when you are ready.

Download our free infographic on the main documents for life and estate planning in Alberta.

​A good estate plan is one you actually understand. A plan that reflects your life as it is right now and prepares you for the future.

We take the time to get it right. You'll leave your signing meeting with documents you understand, plus a digital copy, and the peace of mind that comes from having things properly in place.
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