Background

Nancy Golding is a partner in our Calgary office. Nancy was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1984. She graduated from the University of Alberta in 1983 with her LLB.

Prior to that Nancy received a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Calgary in 1980. She also completed the course work in the Certificate of Conflict Management at the University of Calgary in 1997.

Areas of Practice

• Nancy works exclusively in the areas of wills, estates and estate litigation.

Professional Experience

• Nancy's mandates have included:
  • Preparation of wills, enduring powers of attorney and personal directives
  • Tax planning including creation of trusts, family corporations and estate freezes
  • Extensive estate litigation including applications pursuant to Dependent Adults Act, the Dependents Relief Act, the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act, the Matrimonial Property Act and acting on behalf of administrators, executors and beneficiaries including trial and court of appeal work
• Preparation of all documentation required for the administration and probate of estates
• Advising private company clients concerning the use, establishment and operation of trusts as business and investment vehicles;
• Advising financial institutions concerning estates, beneficiary claims, estate litigation and their role as trustees pursuant to trusts, wills, dependent adult orders and as attorneys pursuant to enduring powers of attorney;
• Assisting individual clients with succession planning including the use of discretionary trusts, wills and enduring powers of attorney, estate freezes to minimize tax liability and methods by which a business can be tax effective manner passed on to the next generation in a tax effective manner including work with farm families;
• Extensive experience in drafting domestic and international wills, enduring powers of attorney and personal directives;
• Advising clients, both corporate and individual, on a wide variety of issues pertaining to the establishment, operation and regulation of charitable and other not-for-profit organizations, the establishment of such organizations and continuing legal advice relating to the operation of the same;
• Extensive experience representing individual clients and trust companies in relation to litigation pertaining to issues such as dependent adult orders and the role of guardians and trustees; the interpretation and validity of wills and trust agreements; creditor claims against an estate; breach of trust allegations; the removal and replacement of executors; executors' compensation; disputes among beneficiaries; claims by dependents pursuant to matrimonial property and family relief legislation and applications to vary wills and trusts, including Court of Queen's Bench trials and appearances before the Court of Appeal of Alberta;
• Advising clients both individual and corporate in relation to all matters required to be dealt with in the administration of an estate including applications for letters probate and letters of administration, the realization and transfer of assets, claims against an estate, accounting and investment issues and matters pertaining to executors' compensation;
• Appointment by the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta as Judicial Trustee and as a legal representative of a disabled person in a Dependent Adult litigation file;
• Working in the area of mediation as an alternative to estate litigation.

Ranking and Recognitions

• Selected by peers for inclusion in the The Best Lawyers in Canada® 2012 (Trusts and Estates)
• Recognized in the 2011 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Estate & Personal Tax Planning)

Professional and Community Activities

• Member of the Canadian Bar Association (Wills and Estates subsection) 1984 - present
• Member of the Canadian Bar Association Executive of the Wills and Estates Subsection 2000-2005
• Past Member of the Board of Directors of the Calgary Downtown Association - 1996 - 2003; President of the Board - 2001 - 2003
• Member of The Estate Planning Counsel of Calgary 2000 - present
• Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) 2000 - present
• Member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP); Member of STEP Executive, 2003 – present, Vice Chair - 2004, Chair - 2005 - Feb 2008; Director STEP Canada, 2005 – 2010; Chair, Member Services Committee Canada and Member of World Wide Committee, 2008 to present
• Founding member of CETL (Collaborative Estate and Trust Lawyers)
• Board member and past President of the Calgary Humane Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 1986- 1995

Programs and Publications

• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) – STEP Canada National Conference – Doctrine of Acceleration, chair, June 7, 2010
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection – Judicial Dispute Resolution, co- speaker, May 31, 2010
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) – Wills and Estates: Beyond The Basics, chair and Judicial Dispute Resolution: “So You Wanna Stop Fighting”, speaker, February 2010
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - STEP Update, co- speaker, February 2010
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - STEP Canada National Conference - Quebec Fiducies and What Common Law Jurisdictions do With Them, speaker, June 20, 2009
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - STEP Canada National Conference - Topical Issues, chair, June 18, 2009
• Federated Press Article, Personal Tax and Estate Planning, Volume 1, No. 4, - Frye v. Frye, co- author, 2009
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) – Case Law Update, co-speaker, May 18, 2009
• Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (In-house seminar) – Implications of Frye case, co-speaker, April 30, 2009
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) – Practitioner's Update, speaker, March 17, 2009
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - STEP Canada National Conference - The Brother's Grim – A Case Study Fable, chair, June 5, 2008
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Evidence in Will Litigation Cases, speaker, February 12, 2008
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - Creation of Wills - Review of Alberta Law Reform Institute Report, speaker November 21, 2007
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - National Trust Symposium, co-chair of Working Group Toronto, November 6, 2007
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - Beneficiary Designations, speaker, June 10, 2007
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - STEP Canada National Conference - Topical Issues, chair, June 7, 2007
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - 40 th Annual Refresher Course - Wills, Estates and Elder Law - Beneficiary Designations - Claims and Challenges, speaker and Hearsay Evidence in Estate Litigation, speaker, May 8, 2007
• Independent Financial Brokers Association - Mental Capacity Issues in Serving Elder Clients, speaker, April 13, 2007
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Judicial Dispute Resolution in Estate Matters, speaker, April 10, 2007
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) – Editorial Board for Alberta - Estate Administration Manuel, speaker, 2005
• Estates, Trusts & Pensions Journal, Case Comment, June, 2005
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) - He Who Hesitates Is Lost – Estate Claims and Limitation Periods, speaker – March 15, 2005
• STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Canada) – STEP INSIDE, In the Headlines, regular contributor, 2004 - present
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - Effective Advocacy in JDR's, speaker, October 27, 2004
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Alberta Law Association Conference 2004 - The Continuing Evolution of Relationships and its Impact on Family and Estate Law, co-chair of Family and Estate Law Panel,March 12, 2004
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Adult Interdependent Relationships Act – Update, speaker, December 8, 2003
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Estate Litigation, CBA panel, May 10, 2005
• Estate Planning Counsel of Calgary - Bill 30-2: Scary or Silly, speaker,September 8, 2003
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - Bill 30-2: Adult Interdependent Relationships Act - Estate Litigation Issues, speaker, Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta, December 8, 2003
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Bill 30-2; Planet of the AIPs, speaker, January, 2003
• University of Calgary – Wills Course,Litigation, Guest Lecturer, 2003 to present
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta), Banff Refresher Course on Wills and Estates and Elder Law, chair, Banff, Alberta - April, 2002
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) – Trusts, chair and Lawyers as Trustees Boom or Busted, speaker, November, 2000
• Canadian Association of Pre-Retirement Planners - Estate Planning, speaker, June 16, 2000
• Imperial Financial Services - Advanced Issues in Estate Planning, speaker, May 8, 2000
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Handling Beneficiary Disputes or Six Ways to Pet a Porcupine – speaker, CBA luncheon panel, March 22, 2000
• HSBC presentation - U.S. Connections in Estate Planning, speaker, November, 1999
• Imperial Financial Services, Alberta Convention for Planners - Estate Planning, speaker, October 5, 1999
• MD Management - Advanced Issues in Estate Planning, speaker, Fall, 1999
• HSBC - Issues in Estate Planning, speaker, June, 1999
• MD Management Conference - Wills and Estates Planning, speaker, Fall, 1998
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - Update 1998 Wills and Estates, speaker, Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta, 1998
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - Personal Directives Act - An Introduction, speaker, Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta, October, 1997
• CBA (Canadian Bar Association) - Wills and Estates Subsection - Personal Directives Panel, speaker, October, 1997
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - Banff Refresher Course on Wills, Estates and Elder Law, chair, Banff, Alberta, April, 1996
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - Update 1995 Wills and Estates, speaker, Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta, November, 1995
• LESA (Legal Education Society of Alberta) - New Surrogate Rules for Legal Secretaries, speaker in Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta, June, 1995
• Calgary Board of Education Continuing Education Instructor - Various Wills and Estates courses, 1987 - 1994
• Bar Admission Course, Instructor for Wills and Estates portion and author of Estate Administration Materials for the Bar Admission Course,