Richards Buell Sutton LLP - Safeguarding Your Assets and Estates

What We Do

Our lawyers deal with the full range of issues (from planning to dispute resolution) associated with personal income flows. We serve financial and insurance planners, business owners, professionals and their corporations, family businesses, executors and trustees, and individuals involved in family law disputes as well as clients facing estate litigation.

We create effective, personalized, tax-efficient plans using a wide range of legal tools, including trusts and specialized corporate structures. Our plans are designed to ensure that you have the option to retain control and that your assets ultimately go to the persons you choose. Every plan has built-in flexibility to allow you to respond to future changes in your personal needs, tax status and family relationships.

We also assist clients who are facing the breakdown of a marriage or common law relationship to understand their options and plan for the best possible outcome. Similarly, we help clients entering new family relationships to understand the potential financial impact and how best to protect pre-existing obligations and commitments.

What You can Expect from Us

We take the necessary time to fully understand your situation and your desired end result. Our lawyers work closely with your investment, insurance, and tax advisors, and your existing legal advisors, to preserve and support your existing relationships. We also take great care to ensure that all client information remains strictly confidential.

We understand that our clients’ priorities are focused on arranging their personal assets to protect the interests of their loved ones and to secure an orderly succession of their affairs. Our lawyers are experienced at reviewing all the relevant variables and creating appropriate plans to handle business succession, minimize unfavourable tax consequences and avoid potential disputes with respect to probate or challenges to wills and estates plans.

Our team includes members devoted to helping clients with family law and estate litigation ranging from assessing how the law affects a specific situation to explaining both the likely outcome and costs of options available for resolving issues or disputes, including litigation.

Legal Services

Our group assists individuals and their families with the full range of estate planning and income flow issues including:

Asset protection
Preparation for retirement and transfer of assets after retirement
Wills
Trusts
Powers of attorney and representation agreements

We also offer complete succession planning services to you and your parents or children. Th ese services include:

Estate freezes and planning for capital gains liability
Business succession planning - control and equity allocation among family members
The preparation of powers of attorney, health care directives, and representation agreements
Establishing appropriate family trusts
Wills, testamentary trusts and disability trusts
Alter ego and joint partner trusts
Probate fee planning

As a further service our Wealth Preservation Group provides a full range of cost-effective services to trustees, executors, and administrators relating to the administration of estates and trusts.

Should a dispute arise in the context of any services we provide, the Wealth Preservation Group is supported by a team of experienced dispute resolution professionals with proven skills in solving wealth-planning related disputes. Through negotiation, mediation, and where necessary, court litigation, we help our clients reach timely and cost-eff ective solutions, with an eye to preserving important relationships.

Questions about wealth preservation laws or matters? We can help:

Safeguarding your Assets and Estates