Best Lawyers in Canada for Trusts and Estates
Curtis is a partner at Carbert Waite LLP, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice. Curtis has extensive experience in a wide variety of commercial litigation and arbitration matters, including international arbitration and litigation, defamation, and estate litigation. His clients include multinational corporations, energy companies, construction companies, family-run businesses, and individuals. He also acts for US and...
Nicole was called to the Manitoba Bar in 2005. Aside from two and a half years during which Nicole was away from private practice while appointed as Public Guardian and Trustee of Manitoba, Nicole has spent her law career as a litigator with Pitblado Law. During that time, her practice has included all aspects of civil litigation; her practice now focuses almost exclusively on estate litigation and administration. In that regard, Nicole acts for executors and administrators of deceased estate...
M. Elena Hoffstein, FEA, has a practice focused in all areas of estate planning, family business succession planning, corporate reorganization both pre and post mortem planning. She also advises on cross border and international matters, will, trusts and marriage contracts. Elena is also a recognized leader in charity law advising both charities and donors on effective legislative, tax and regulatory matters and on tax effective charitable gifting. Elena frequently advises clients on family b...
Riley Burr's practice largely focuses on commercial tax work. Riley also advises clients on GST, PST and property transfer tax issues in the corporate, charitable and real estate sectors, both in structuring designed to minimize taxes as well as in handling administrative appeals, ruling requests and voluntary disclosures relating to such taxes. Riley also works with high-net-worth individuals with significant private company interests in a wide variety of industries to structure their affair...
Laura Geddes brings to Harrison Pensa an established and well-regarded wills, estate planning and estate administration practice. Laura has over a decade of experience in wills and estate matters and is a certified Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Laura’s practice includes complex estate planning, including the preparation of wills, trusts and Powers of Attorney. She also regularly advises executors and trustees through the e...
Antonio Nadaira is a talented tax and business lawyer who focuses his practice on domestic and international taxation with an emphasis on corporate reorganizations, sale and acquisition, and estate planning. He assists businesses of all sizes in the various stages of their growth by being involved in a number of major commercial transactions. Antonio joined BCF in 2012, before which he was with a major national law firm where he practiced taxation and business law. Dedicated and attentive to ...
Daniel Frajman is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Corporate Law and Trusts and Estates. Daniel practices law in Montréal, Quebec Best Lawyers has recognized Daniel Frajman since 2021. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Daniel Frajman is held by other lawyers.
Tim advises clients on estate management, wealth preservation, business succession, and corporate law. His practice focuses on developing tailored estate and succession plans that support long-term personal and business goals, often involving complex cross-border considerations. Working closely with U.S. legal and tax specialists, Tim regularly assists Canadians with U.S.-based estate planning and Americans with their Canadian-based estate planning. He also has specialized experience in life ...
Nicole Woodward practices in the area of trusts, estates, succession planning, and taxation in relation to those areas. She advises clients in all areas of domestic and complex cross-border estate and trust matters, including indigenous trusts, planning for high net worth estates, estate and trust administration, and the preparation of wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents. Nicole regularly counsels individuals regarding a variety of cross-border issues, including tax planning fo...
Serving a wide range of business clients, Matthew Bilmes is an authority on tax and estate planning matters. Matthew Bilmes proudly assists business owners plan for tax efficiency throughout their company’s life cycle. He works with commercial clients and owner-operators across generations to effectively minimize tax while helping to propel growth for a future sale or family succession. He is also involved in numerous cross-border tax planning files, assisting clients with interests in ...
Tanisha Tulloch is a partner at Torkin Manes LLP in Toronto, Ontario and a member of the firm’s Private Client Services and Litigation Groups. Her practice focuses on trusts and estates litigation , commercial litigation, and professional liability defence. Tanisha represents individuals, trust companies, government agencies, and other institutions in a broad range of trust and estate disputes. Her work includes matters involving estates, trusts, capacity issues, fiduciary obligations, ...
Jordan is a Certified Specialists in Estates and Trusts Law and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. Lexpert rates Jordan as one of its top recommended estate lawyers in Canada as well as being rated as a Best Lawyer in Canada. In addition to his planning and administration practice, Jordan is Senior Associate Counsel to Hull & Hull LLP and a senior mediator with Hull Estate Mediation Inc. He is a Past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association - Trust and ...
David Thompson received a B.Comm (1979) and LLB (1983) from the University of British Columbia. He was called to the bar in 1984 and has practiced exclusively in taxation matters since 1985. David is a registered trust and estate practitioner certified by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. David was a governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation. David is noted as a leading Canadian tax lawyer based on peer-review ratings in Lexpert and in Martindale Hubell. He is noted as a leading Ca...
Aaron Edgar is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Trusts and Estates. Aaron practices law in Toronto, Ontario Best Lawyers has recognized Aaron Edgar since 2025. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Aaron Edgar is held by other lawyers.
Frédéric Barriault is a member of the Corporate/Commercial group at the Montréal office. His practice is centered on trust law, estate planning, assets protection strategies and corporate restructurings for private clients. He advises individuals, families and their enterprises from various backgrounds in order to provide them with tailor-made solutions in order to meet their personal goals, estate and business succession goals and philanthropic intentions. With his exper...
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.
