Butler Wills and Estates Consulting Services
34 Hamlyn Road A1E 3L5 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, NL, Canada

So pleased with a mediation we led today. Three sisters fighting over an estate were able to meet, talk, and come to an agreement that all are pleased about. They've avoided a long, expensive lawsuit but more importantly, they're all still family. Feels like a good day's work.

Great chance to speak to a lawyer on the phone.

If you were hoping to take care of business at the courts in St. John's this week, check this link to see what's operating and what's not. https://lsnl.ca/supreme-court-of-nl-notice-to-the-professi/

Given the sudden uptick in Covid cases in our province, our firm will be tightening our safeguards. We have already restricted walk-ins so that people may enter our office by appointment only, and we already have a mask-wearing requirement. We're already sanitizing everything after each client visit. Until now, we've been giving clients the choice between a phone appointment and a socially-distanced in-person appointment. As of now, we are no longer going to offer in-person consultations. This is for everyone's safety. For those of you worried about getting your wills signed, please rest assured that we will find a way to get that done for you. We have signed wills through car windows and on front porches, and we'll make sure your documents get signed!

We recently served our 100th newcomer client in 2020! Clients have used our individualized supports to help navigate legal issues in Newfoundland and Labrador, ...receive lawyer referrals, and learn more about their legal rights! If you are a newcomer looking for some help with a legal matter, reach out to Megan at [email protected] or by phone at 1-888-660-7788

If you've ever had reason to wonder about your legal rights as a grandparent - such as custody or access regarding your grandchildren - check out this new zoom presentation from Public Legal Information Association of NL. Hosted by Greg Noseworthy (a former articling student of this firm) and Shirley White.

This is a wonderful way to get accurate, reliable info!

So the Provincial Court in Atlantic Place was closed again today. All cases scheduled for the afternoon of August 13 and 14, 2020 will be called at the same time on Monday, August 17, 2020. That should be fun - three days of cases all going to be called on one day. But at least the A/C has been fixed!

Due to cooling issues in Atlantic Place, St. John’s Provincial Court closed down today. All cases scheduled for this afternoon will be called at the same time tomorrow. P.S. At Supreme Court, we just tough it out and hope we get the ONE air-conditioned courtroom...

I am pleased and proud to announce that my firm won best estate-planning law firm in St. John's for 2020. This is the 5th year in a row and we've only been open for five years. So proud of my hard-working, imaginative, dedicated team - Chelsea, Matthew, Tony and of course, Roxy - for making this happen.

Check out this FREE legal clinic being put on by Public Legal Information of Newfoundland and Labrador.

More changes from the courts. The Provincial Court wishes to advise those required to attend St. John’s Provincial Court that morning sessions of Plea Day, which are normally held in Courtroom #5, will be held on the third floor of the Beothuck Building, located at 20 Crosbie Place, St. John’s, commencing today until further notice. For further information, please go to https://court.nl.ca/provincial/ or call St. John’s Provincial Court at (709) 729-1539

During the pandemic, we reduced our office hours. Starting this week -June 15 - we will resume our normal workweek of Monday to Thursday. We're still doing as much as possible by phone and Zoom. And it looks as though the courthouses will be opening at the end of the month, so things are getting back to normal.

It's one of the cornerstones of our court system that the public (or the media on behalf of the public) can watch most court proceedings. Did you know that you can still do this during the pandemic while the courthouse is physically closed? For information on how to arrange to view ongoing court matters, go to www.court.nl.ca and look for the bright yellow banner showing Covid-19 updates.

The NL legislature has moved surprisingly quickly to amend the law to allow people to sign their wills remotely. This will involve using video technology to allow people who are sick or in isolation to sign wills with their lawyers present only on a screen. I'm actually pretty impressed because I know of only two other provinces who have allowed this. If you know of someone who is too sick (or isn't sick but is vulnerable) who might want to take advantage of this temporary arrangement, please let them know!

Hurray! The NL court will begin accepting probate applications again on Monday! We have a small pile of them waiting for filing so I'll be pleased to let those clients know their files are about to get moving again.

Having our courts shut down is pretty stressful for people who have family legal concerns that feel really urgent, such as access to their kids or maintenance payments that have stopped. We've had some further guidance from our Supreme Court (NL) today about which matters can be heard on the basis of being urgent. The court said: "In assessing whether the matter is urgent, the Court provides the following guidance to counsel and parties: The concern must be immediate; that ...is, one that cannot await resolution at a later date; The concern must be serious in the sense that it significantly affects the health or safety or economic well-being of parties and/or their children; The concern must be a definite and material rather than speculative one. It must relate to something tangible (a spouse or child’s health, welfare or dire financial circumstances) rather than theoretical; and The concern must be one that has been clearly particularized in evidence and examples that describe the manner in which the concern reaches the level of urgency." See more

I do my bit by volunteering my time at the Access to Law free clinics each year. Anyone who has time, energy, knowledge, compassion, or something else that could benefit others should consider volunteer work of some kind.

Got a bit of extra time for reading? For a change of pace, why not head over to the Mensa Canada blog and read my latest post. It's all about helping clients frame their questions properly so that they get the answers they need.

Things are changing constantly. Here is the latest from the Provincial Court. The courthouses are still closed but judges and staff are working from home to the extent possible. This is great news if you have one of the following sort of situations: - in-custody criminal matter - emergency family matter (custody, access, maintenance etc) - other emergencies - ex parte matters ... The phone numbers for the various NL provincial courts are below.

Our office is still open in a very restricted way. Most of our work is being done by phone and email. When it's necessary for us to see clients in person - such as for witnessing documents - we're using social distancing and a ton of Lysol wipes. We're sanitizing very pen, every doorknob, every chair, every time. This is nerve-wracking for absolutely everyone but we believe it's important that people have access to legal assistance and advice. People are worried about getting sick and worried about their families. They need their wills done for peace of mind. So we'll stay open for them as long as we can.

Changes continue to be made to court services, making it difficult for people to know what to do when they have a family, custody, criminal, or traffic matter due to be heard in Provincial court. For the latest updates and instructions, see the link below: https://court.nl.ca//Revised-COVID-19_Operational_Plan-Pro

We're all trying to keep our families safe, and we know that older people are most at risk right now. But what if your parents or grandparents need banking or insurance paperwork done right now and it cannot be done on the phone? Use their Enduring Power of Attorney and do it for them.

As the situation develops, there are more closures at both the Provincial court and the Supreme court. As of now, only in-custody criminal matters and urgent child custody/family matters are being heard. Everything else is adjourned until further notice. You cannot file any documents. Note that the wills registry is searchable online, as is the Registry of Deeds. If you need help with any of this, call us at 709-221-5511.

Further update on the NL courts: all Provincial Court appearances are suspended except where an accused is in custody, in which case trials and bail hearings will still take place. In the Supreme Court, on March 17 and 18 the courthouse is closed to the public but open to lawyers, witnesses, and parties directly related to ongoing hearings. A further update will be made by the end of Wednesday.

We know some things can't wait and the current medical crisis is causing a lot of stress on our clients. We're here and we're happy to meet by phone or video conference.

The Supreme Court of NL has suspended jury trials between March 17 and May 31 due to concerns about COVID-19. Take note that self-isolation on medical advice does not overcome your legal obligation to attend when served with a jury summons. If you've been served with a notice for jury duty, call your local courthouse before heading down there.

For my fellow lawyers and CBA members - don't miss this upcoming lunch and learn session. I'll be discussing how not to be sued when drafting wills.

I had a wonderful time as guest speaker at the Family History Society of NL tonight. We talked about using historic wills and probate records to build a family tree. I met such interesting, fun people! Thanks for inviting me.

We'll be closed on Friday, February 7. It's not so much because of the new snow, but because of the several hours of freezing rain expected after the snow. I don't think it's fair to ask my staff to drive in that. If anyone needs anything, I'm reachable on email at [email protected].

We are FINALLY going to be back at work on Monday! Never thought I'd be so pleased to see a Monday.

We will be closed until the state of emergency is lifted. We are picking up voice mail.We will be closed until the state of emergency is lifted. We are picking up voice mail.

We're closed today and Tuesday, for obvious reasons. We'll keep you posted.

We had an unexpected visitor in the office today. You may have seen this beautiful, 165-pound boy greeting cruise ships or dropping the puck at the first Growlers game. Our little 3-pound Pom was freaked out, but we love this gentle giant.

I was recently interviewed for this article on "Death in the Digital Age" for Forum Magazine. Think you don't have digital assets? Think again...

Part 4 of our series on Estate Misconceptions is now on our YouTube channel. Click the link to see it (and to see our adorable office dog, Roxy, doing her part, helping Chelsea present the video).

Part 2 of our video series about estate planning misconceptions is now on YouTube. Find out why you shouldn't be adding all your kids' names to your cabin by clicking on link below.

I believe this 100%. The more I train, teach, develop, and support our staff, the happier they are and the better they perform their jobs. Happy staff = happy customers!

Because of our readers, we've reached a milestone today. Our blog has now been read more than 7 million times. I intend to keep it thriving as a source for free, accurate, real-world information for the next 7 million times it's needed.

https://estatelawcanada.blogspot.com/

Our latest video is up on YouTube. It's part 1 of a 5-part series we call "5 Estate Planning Misconceptions". You might be surprised how many people don't realize their home-made estate plans won't work. Click on the link below to check it out (and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss the rest of the series!).

Special deal at our office this month. For more info about this offer or about us, see our webpage at www.butlerwillsandestates.com

We had great fun in the office this morning. The crew from NTV came by to film our new TV commercial. Yes, Roxy is in it .