Best Lawyers in Ontario, Canada for Trusts and Estates
Clare Burns is a senior trusts and estates litigator. She served as the Children's Lawyer for the Province of Ontario from 2003 to 2008 pursuant to an Order-in-Council appointment. As the Children's Lawyer, Clare's office was responsible to investigate, advocate, protect and represent persons under the age of 18 in proceedings before the courts and tribunals of Ontario. In this role, she supervised more than 11,000 cases including variations of trust, will challenges, passings of accounts, gu...
Noah Kochman is a founding partner at Donovan Kochman LLP. His practice is focused on estates and trusts litigation as well as commercial litigation matters in Ontario. He regularly represents clients before the Court in power of attorney disputes, dependant support claims, will challenges, and other complex estates and trusts disputes. He is a fierce advocate for his clients in the courtroom, a skilled negotiator, and a thoughtful advisor. Noah's professional peers voted to recognize Noah as...
David Stevens is partner in the business law department in the Gowling WLG Toronto office. David is a tax lawyer, focussing on corporate and international tax planning, personal and private company tax planning, trust taxation, charities and not-for-profits, and mining. David's clients include high net worth individuals and their families, regsitered charities, not-for-profit organizations, and trust companies. David advises clients on business succession planning, estate planning and estate ...
Aaron Edgar is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Aaron, who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Aaron is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
With more than 30 years of knowledge and experience, Don provides guidance to family-owned businesses and high net worth individuals in Ottawa and the surrounding region. His areas of practice include corporate law, wills, trusts, and succession planning, with a primary focus on the creation of tax-effective structures for the accumulation and transfer of wealth. Clients appreciate his accessibility, judgment, quality of work, and proactive approach in addressing their needs. Don studied math...
Rebecca Studin is a partner at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP. Before joining the firm, Rebecca practised estates and commercial litigation at a full-service international law firm in Toronto. Rebecca acts for clients in respect of a broad range of estates matters, including will challenges, will interpretation and rectification applications, contested guardianship and power of attorney disputes, complex probate applications, and contested passings of accounts. Rebecca obtained her law degree from O...
Lorne H. Saltman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Lorne H., who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Lorne H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Angela is a fierce advocate for people affected by death and diminished mental capacity. Her professional peers voted to recognize her as one of Canada’s leading lawyers for estate litigation in Lexpert magazine. Her clients appreciate Angela’s ability to tell their story in a compelling way, and her “committed, supportive work” on their behalf. Her clients include trust companies, charities, government agencies, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, individuals a...
Trevor Moum is a wills and estate lawyer. A significant part of his practice is focused on estate litigation. Estate disputes can be acrimonious and are usually emotionally taxing on all parties. Trevor approaches sensitive issues with empathy and thoughtfulness and aims to achieve appropriate solutions as swiftly as possible. Clients appreciate his ability to listen, identify their specific needs, and seek practical and cost-effective outcomes. Where compromise is not possible, he is a firm ...
Howard’s practice focuses on estate litigation, in-person and online mediation and arbitration of estates disputes, and all aspects of estate planning and administration. In addition to a busy estate litigation and mediation practice, Howard advises on wills and powers of attorney to middle and high net-worth individuals. Howard is passionate about the law. He has been Adjunct Professor of the Estates and Estate Litigation courses at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto since 1992, and ha...
Andrew Valentine's charities and non-profit law practice focuses on providing advice to organizations on issues including gift planning, incorporation and registration, ongoing compliance matters, and audits. Andrew also deals extensively with non-profit corporate governance and corporate structuring issues, advising on corporate restructuring, directors' duties and liabilities, governance best practices, bylaws and policies, and membership disputes. Andrew also has expertise in social enterp...
Daniel Paperny is a Partner and co-lead of the Estate Litigation practice group at Loopstra Nixon LLP. He practices exclusively in the areas of wills, estates, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianship, and capacity related litigation. Daniel has practiced estate litigation since his call to the Bar in 2015 and has developed an expertise in the area. Daniel is passionate about estate litigation and recognizes the importance of this time in the lives of his clients. By utilizing technical skill...
Frank Walwyn is known for his resourceful approach to litigating some of the most challenging business cases in Canada and the Caribbean. Frank is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is repeatedly named as one of Canada’s top lawyers in the area of Corporate and Commercial Litigation in The Best Lawyers in Canada , Who’s Who Legal , Benchmark Canada, the Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys , and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory , am...
Matthew Urback is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Matthew, who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Alex specializes in matters related to capacity, guardianship, and power of attorney. He has often been appointed as counsel for individuals alleged to be incapable in high-conflict capacity-related disputes, showcasing his dedication to the rights of vulnerable individuals. Alex serves as the co-CPD liaison for the Elder Law Section and is a member-at-large of the OBA Trusts and Estates Section Executives of the Ontario Bar Association. Additionally, he is an active member of the Mental Heal...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.