Lesley joined Harper Grey in 2023 as an Associate practicing with our Business Law Group.
Lesley’s solicitor’s practice is focused on Wills and Estates, in particular incapacity and estate planning, as well as estate administration. After working as a notary for three years, she re-joined private practice in 2016. Lesley has assisted numerous clients with diverse backgrounds and requirements and brings a tailored and informed perspective to each client she works with. Lesley strives to make life’s inevitabilities, death and taxes, a less daunting a topic for clients while being alert to the complications these raise from a legal, family, tax, probate fee, and cost perspective.
Lesley is committed to helping her clients understand their planning options and working with them to create incapacity and estate plans that are customized to their individual needs and goals.
In estate administration matters, Lesley advises and assists clients in probate applications and the administration of estates and trusts. Lesley takes time to answer questions and to ensure her clients understand their duties and obligations when dealing with an estate. She genuinely strives to help make a difficult time a little bit easier.
When she’s not at work, you can find Lesley spending time with family and friends – often by throwing impromptu dinner parties.
Estate Planning & Planning for Incapacity
Lesley’s experience includes:
- assisting clients with blended families or complex family dynamics
- wills with specialized trusts for children, spousal trusts, disability trusts, trusts for adults
- estate plans involving unequal division or disinheritance
- charitable gifts
- specific bequests of real estate and personal property
- dual wills (e.g. separate wills for private business and non-business assets)
- incapacity planning, including the preparation of powers of attorney and representation agreements
- advising on and preparing joint partner trusts, alter ego trusts, bare trusts
- advising on the pros and cons of changing ownership of property to joint tenancy
Estate Administration
Lesley’s experience includes administering estates with:
- homemade wills, marked wills, a copy of a will, and missing wills
- multiple, missing, and foreign executors
- minor, incompetent, and foreign beneficiaries
- insolvency or insufficient assets
- no will (e.g. an intestate estate)
Lesley also assists her clients with residential real estate matters including the transmission of property into an estate, the sale of estate property, as well as purchases and refinances.
Education
- University of Manitoba, L.L.B. 1995
- University of Manitoba, B.A. (Hons), 1992
Bar Admissions
- Manitoba, 1996
- British Columbia, 2016
Membership
- Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch, Member
- The Law Society of British Columbia, Member
