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Canada’s leading wills, trusts, and estates law firms are addressing an era of unprecedented complexity and change in the field.
According to STEP Canada chair Richard Niedermayer, K.C., TEP, the forces reshaping practice today include:
massive intergenerational wealth transfer that is redefining estate planning priorities
more mobile client base that brings greater cross-border and multijurisdictional complexity
growing awareness of the need for domestic arrangements, such as cohabitation and marriage contracts, among younger entrepreneurs and wealth inheritors
the rise of digital assets and AI, alongside constant volatility in tax and legislation
“The best practitioners are those who have a deep legal specialty in the area, but who also engage with other advisors, such as tax, accounting, financial/banking, investments, and insurance, to provide a holistic approach to a client’s needs,” he remarks.
Canadian Lawyer’s fourth edition recognizes the top 10 wills, trusts, and estates law firms nationwide. In all, there were 30 nominees, based on firms where the majority of work comes from wills, trusts, and estates law.
Readers ranked their top firms from a preliminary list, with a chance to nominate a firm that was not included. Final results combined reader votes on a weighted points system with Lexpert peer survey results, feedback from senior members of the bar, and regional diversity considerations.
The 2025–26 results reflect the voices of Canada’s legal and professional community. The majority of voters were practising lawyers, joined by trust officers, advisors, and other professionals who work closely with estate matters. Their combined perspectives underscore that the leading boutiques were chosen not only by peers at the bar but also by the wider network that relies on their expertise.
This year’s honourees stand out for a combination of qualities that define excellence in wills, trusts, and estates practice:
depth of expertise across planning, litigation, trusts, estates, and tax, with the ability to manage both straightforward and complex matters
client-centred advocacy that blends technical skill with compassion, supporting people through grief, conflict, and sensitive family dynamics
practical, problem-solving advice that cuts through complexity and delivers usable solutions
leadership within the profession through mentorship, education, and knowledge-sharing that elevates the entire bar
trusted reputation and community connection that make these firms reliable referral points and anchors for clients and peers
Wills, trusts, and estates law firms sit at the heart of Canada’s legal market managing the intersection of personal wealth, family dynamics, and generational transition.
A Scotiatrust survey of affluent Canadians over 50 found that while 90 percent have a will, only 69 percent say it is up to date. Even more concerning, 41 percent do not have a power of attorney for financial matters, and 47 percent lack a power of attorney for personal or medical care.
These gaps leave families exposed to financial and emotional turmoil, while also underscoring the demand for professional guidance.
Other key findings include:
91 percent say they are confident their executor will have the skills and time to carry out the role.
63 percent acknowledge it’s emotionally difficult to be the executor of an estate.
62 percent have named their spouse or child as executor, opening the door to uneasy family dynamics.
Succession and demographic forces are reshaping the practice of wills, trusts, and estates, the leading global professional body STEP found in its 2025 Attitudes to Wealth survey. A substantive intergenerational wealth transfer is underway, driving demand for legal expertise that can manage assets and also family expectations.
Most clients view their wealth positively, with more than 80 percent aiming to pass all or most of it to family. Ensuring financial security for future generations remains the dominant priority, though a small minority seeks to limit accumulation or give everything away. While more than half of practitioners report no change in client objectives over the past decade, one in five say attitudes are shifting.
Yet, communication between wealth creators and beneficiaries often breaks down, hindered by privacy concerns, fear of creating entitlement, or a desire to avoid conflict.
These challenges are compounded by doubts about the next generation’s readiness, from gaps in financial literacy to cultural and generational barriers that make conversations about inheritance uncomfortable. Practitioners themselves recognize the strain: a STEP survey found that 90 percent believe more education around trusts is needed to support succession and continuity.
Making its debut on the Top 10 list this year is Toronto’s Fern Law, recognized for its balanced approach to the tensions of modern succession planning while also guiding families through the disputes that can follow.
Partner and founder Kristine Anderson, who has more than 20 years of courtroom experience, explains that the firm combines practical advocacy with empathetic client care. Its work shows how blended families, loans to children, and changing family structures are testing the limits of traditional succession planning.
“We focus on achieving outcomes and crafting a solution that is fair to our clients and is one that everyone can live with, rather than a scorched earth approach to litigation,” she says. “This means we are not the right fit for some clients who want to take a bulldog approach.”
Anderson and the Fern Law team say that blended families are one of the biggest challenges in estate planning.
“With a blended family, you have different influences and pressures pulling on each of the spouses,” she says. Stepchildren, competing loyalties, and obligations from prior relationships can all complicate decisions.
Even the drafting stage demands care. “You have to be extremely careful about using words like ‘children’ or ‘issue’ in the will as you may be inadvertently leaving out stepchildren or step-grandchildren.”
She emphasizes that estate planning in these situations requires deep, candid conversations. Asset distribution has to balance the expectations of all family members, as well as legal obligations to former spouses.
Anderson also notes that powers of attorney are another flashpoint, since biological children acting as attorneys may resent funds supporting a second spouse.
“Unfortunately, we see too many situations where the second spouse has to beg for support or has to litigate the issue. This could be prevented with a clearly articulated estate plan.”
A growing trend involves parents loaning significant sums to children, often to help with purchasing a home or assisting them with the general cost of living. Families then face the dilemma of whether to forgive those loans in a will or rebalance inheritances later. Parents may also provide more assistance to one child who is struggling and want to recognize this while still being fair to others. These scenarios highlight the sensitive calculations behind succession planning.
Succession planning raises stark questions for families with young children. Anderson says many parents struggle most with deciding who would become guardian if both parents died together. She guides them past this hurdle by explaining that naming someone in the will is not set in stone and will still be subject to court oversight. The courts apply the best-interest-of-the-child principle, which gives families flexibility if circumstances change.
Anderson herself also represents a distinct group of clients – successful, single women without children or partners.
“These clients struggle with deciding whom to leave their estate,” she says. “I meet clients where they are, and we work through several different scenarios with real numbers until we land on a scenario that feels right. Respecting their process is part of the client service.”
Litigation is a major part of Fern Law’s practice, but the team’s approach resists unnecessary escalation.
The firm’s strategy emphasizes:
encouraging open communication with opposing counsel
identifying client interests and needs rather than rigid positions
documenting resolution terms to avoid future misunderstandings
“Fern Law’s approach does not suggest that we aren’t fierce advocates for our clients, but the overly aggressive obstructionist approach to litigation typically only benefits lawyers by increasing the legal fees the client has to pay,” Anderson says.
Families often avoid or delay conversations about inheritance out of fear of conflict, which increases the risk of disputes later. A STEP survey found that only four percent of clients communicate very effectively with their families about wealth, while 41 percent said communication was only somewhat effective, and the rest acknowledged major shortcomings.
Avoidance, cultural barriers, and a belief that succession planning can be put off all add to the silence.
Distrust in heirs or concerns about mismanagement further drive contested estates. Practitioners frequently cite worries about spendthrift behaviour, irresponsible heirs, or conflicts with children’s spouses and partners as recurring triggers. Combined with poor communication, these dynamics create fertile ground for disputes that increasingly end up in litigation.
Nova Scotia’s Carver Estate Law & Litigation has made its reputation in precisely this space. The firm has earned recognition in the province and beyond for its focus on estate disputes.
Ranked Tier 1 locally for trusts and estates, the first-time Top 10 awardee combines planning and administration with a strong litigation practice. Principal lawyer Benjamin P. Carver says the firm’s approach reflects the reality that estate work often turns contentious.
Carver notes a clear trend in the disputes landing before the courts. “The most common disputes now involve wealth transfers made outside the will,” he explains.
These include joint accounts, beneficiary designations, and last-minute property transfers, where large sums of money can be moved quickly, often with little advice or oversight, and usually surface only after death.
“The result is frequent litigation over capacity, undue influence, and resulting trusts,” he adds.
Estate litigation is both costly and emotional, Carver says, and the firm’s approach reflects that reality. “Relationships are at the heart of almost every estate dispute, and they shape how we approach resolution.”
He notes that the firm is careful to weigh more than dollars when advising clients. Factors include:
family relationships
privacy concerns
reputation
“When a practical resolution is possible, we move toward it quickly; when it is not, we prepare to see the matter through to hearing,” Carver explains.
Clear and candid communication with both clients and opposing counsel is a hallmark of the practice. In Nova Scotia’s close-knit legal community, he adds, “Professional courtesy is essential even when legal issues are vigorously contested.”
Carver highlights the advantages of a focused practice over larger or generalist firms. Each lawyer at the firm began in a larger firm setting, but Carver says the boutique model better serves individual clients.
“With fewer conflicts, responsive service, and concentrated expertise, we are often the firm of choice for conflict referrals and for clients from all parts of Canada who find themselves involved in Nova Scotia estate proceedings.”
In Toronto, Whaley Estate Litigation Partners (WEL Partners) has built its reputation as a litigation-only boutique, focusing squarely on estate, trust, and fiduciary disputes across Ontario. From capacity issues to elder abuse and undue influence, the firm is unapologetically dedicated to disputes. Its work reflects the complexity of modern estates, the gaps in legislation, and the importance of sustained thought leadership in shaping the field.
Partner Bryan Gilmartin notes a clear shift in the types of cases the firm is seeing. “The complexity of assets is on the rise,” he says. As more Canadians hold property and investments abroad, disputes are now tied to assets scattered across jurisdictions. Identifying and dealing with those assets is often difficult, especially when they are not properly addressed in a will.
Gilmartin adds that while this can be a challenge, it is also a welcomed opportunity to collaborate with practitioners in those jurisdictions to resolve the issues.
WEL Partners’ reputation for publishing is not incidental, as it ensures lawyers stay current on key developments and promotes the firm’s profile in the field. WEL Partners’ website has become a widely cited source of information in estates litigation, reflecting the firm’s commitment to education as much as advocacy.
“Frequent publishing also maintains and grows our collective knowledge base, which directly transcends the quality advice we provide to our clients,” he says.
Gilmartin points to emerging issues that could reshape the practice. In Ontario, there is no legislative mechanism to recognize guardianship orders made in foreign jurisdictions. This gap is increasingly problematic as foreign-owned assets in Ontario become more common. When an owner of such assets becomes incapable and falls under guardianship abroad, the appointed guardian’s authority cannot be recognized in Ontario.
“Our courts have wrestled with this issue given an increased demand for access to these assets, often to assist with paying for the incapable person’s care and treatment costs,” Gilmartin explains.
A common law solution has recently been developed and applied, offering a potential workaround to the legislative gap. But, as he notes, “It remains to be seen how broadly and effectively this will be applied and what further issues will arise.”
With its focus on disputes and its depth of publishing, WEL Partners stands out as judiciary-adjacent and resource-rich. By blending frontline advocacy with thought leadership, the firm is shaping both how estate disputes are fought today and how the practice evolves tomorrow.
Practitioners are rethinking how they engage with clients, shifting from a purely technical role to one that emphasizes stewardship and long-term planning.
In the STEP survey, nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said advisors should raise issues of responsible wealth management when they align with client goals, while another 39 percent believe lawyers should take a guiding role, and 10 percent favour a proactive stance. This shows a clear expectation that firms will lean in rather than wait for instructions.
Innovation is increasingly reshaping how wills, trusts, and estates law firms deliver value. Generative AI use in law doubled in 2024, and 2025 was forecasted to bring another double-digit surge in adoption, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Lawyer use of AI rose from 14 percent to 26 percent year-over-year.
Nearly half of lawyers plan to make AI central to their workflows within the next 12 months.
59 percent of firms using generative AI do not track ROI.
Another 21 percent of respondents don’t know whether their firm is measuring ROI.
For boutique firms, AI adoption is already streamlining document drafting and research, freeing more capacity to focus on complex client needs.
On top of this, demand for dedicated digital tools is accelerating. The global estate planning software market, valued at about US$1.5 billion in 2024, is projected to climb to US$4.2 billion by 2033, with North America expected to hold 45 percent of the market, according to Verified Market Reports’ July 2025 data.
These trends signal that clients increasingly expect accessible, technology-enabled service, and firms that embrace both AI and specialized planning platforms will be best placed to meet that demand.
Hull & Hull LLP’s lawyers gather every week for what they call the “Lawyers’ Lunch”. Around the table, they trade insights on new case law, swap ideas for file management, and share creative strategies for dealing with client matters.
The tradition, which has endured for decades, shows how the Toronto, Oakville, and Ottawa law firm keeps learning central to its culture and encourages open exchange.
Founded in 1957, the firm has become one of Canada’s best-known names in estate, trust, and capacity litigation. Its work stretches from mediation and planning to appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada. It has built its profile through podcasts, books, and continuing education, though its roots remain firmly in client service.
As managing partner Suzana Popovic-Montag explains, “We are deeply committed to balancing innovation with tradition, ensuring that our practice remains at the forefront of the legal field while honouring our rich heritage.”
Innovation today takes many forms. Weekly AI training sessions, led by the firm’s in-house specialist, help lawyers bring AI into everyday tasks, such as research, drafting, and client communication. The firm is experimenting with CoCounsel to manage document review and using Otter.ai and Zoom to capture and summarize meetings.
Popovic-Montag is clear that technology must enhance rather than replace human judgment. She stresses that AI cannot substitute for critical thinking or emotional intelligence, and Hull & Hull invests in a closed, reputable system to ensure reliability and trust.
That connection between judgment and empathy is most critical in litigation, where emotions often run high. Popovic-Montag has handled contested estates for more than 25 years and says technical mastery is never enough.
“I have learned that no matter how technical the legal issues may be, at the heart of almost every case is a human story, often involving grief, fractured relationships, and longstanding tensions,” she says.
Many clients arrive with little sense of the process, cost, or what outcomes are realistic. Early, realistic advice is key to keeping expectations in check and preventing disputes from spiralling.
The firm’s identity as both litigators and planners is another differentiator. Its lawyers prepare wills and trusts with the insight of having litigated disputes over poor drafting or weak communication.
They have seen how informal arrangements, outdated planning, or rapid growth in family wealth can inflame tensions. This experience informs how they anticipate risks and explain consequences to clients, often highlighting the human as well as the legal dimensions behind each choice.
Education is central to that approach. Hull & Hull publishes resource guides, maintains one of the field’s longest-running podcasts, and speaks regularly at industry events. Collaboration is deliberately cultivated at the firm. Mentorship is embedded in the culture, with senior partners sharing trial lessons and negotiation tactics with junior lawyers.
That culture has earned Hull & Hull a reputation for fairness and courtesy in a field where disputes can quickly turn bitter. The firm also sees how family dynamics have changed. Clients often arrive with uneven wealth distribution, blended households, or planning documents that no longer reflect their financial reality.
Lawyers bring issues into the open early, aiming to defuse tension before it escalates. When conflict cannot be avoided, the team pairs advocacy with practical advice about settlement and costs. Working with opposing counsel and focusing on client interests rather than rigid positions has allowed them to secure outcomes that preserve both assets and relationships.
Innovation is part of that same ethos. Hull & Hull is expanding its use of AI and digital tools, but only with safeguards that protect client trust.
“In terms of our tradition, we stand by our core values of integrity, excellence, and client-focused service. These are the foundations of our practice,” Popovic-Montag adds.
These 10 law firms recognised by CL represent the highest standard of excellence in wills, trusts, and estates law in Canada.
Their expertise spans planning, litigation, tax, and administration, with a proven ability to guide families through complexity and conflict.
Each firm combines technical strength with compassion, supporting clients at some of the most difficult moments in life.
Their influence extends beyond their own caseloads as mentors, educators, and leaders within the profession.
They showcase the qualities that make Canada’s estate bar a trusted cornerstone of the legal community.
In June, Canadian Lawyer asked readers from across Canada to vote on the wills, estates, and trust boutiques. They were asked to rank their top firms from a preliminary list, with a chance to nominate a firm that was not included.
To be considered in the vote, firms were required to have the majority of their business come from their work from wills, trusts, and estate law. The final rankings were determined through a points system in which firms were rewarded on a sliding scale for the number of votes by ranking.
The quantitative results were combined with the Lexpert peer survey results, where applicable, along with feedback from respected senior members of the bar and regional diversity considerations.