Estate Planning 2026: Key Issues and Common Pitfalls to Avoid
February 12, 2026 at 9:00AM PST
Live Webinar - Online Only!
Estate Planning 2026: Key Issues and Common Pitfalls to Avoid
February 12, 2026
Overview
The legal landscape for estate planners is evolving. The issues involved in preparing for the future have become more diverse and complex than ever before. This program will keep you current on some of the most recent developments and challenges faced by estate planners today, bringing together leading experts on estate planning and taxation issues to provide you with practical, current advice.
You will gain a solid understanding of evolving issues and discuss potential approaches and opportunities to structure and implement estate plans that meet your clients’ needs. You will leave with an up-to-date awareness of important developments in this area and how to successfully put them to work in your practice.
Please note this program is only offered online as a live webinar event.
Key Areas to be Addressed:
Recent developments in capacity, knowledge & approval
Beneficiary designations
Planning for clients with assets in multiple jurisdictions
Special planning considerations for blended families
Planning for health care and other support needs
Common traps and avoiding litigation
Who Should Attend:
Wills, trusts and estate lawyers and their paralegals
Personal representatives
Accountants and tax professionals
Financial planners
Trust officers
Notaries
Agenda
9:00 - Welcome and Introduction by PBLI
9:05 - Chairs’ Welcome and Introduction
David Hunter
Hamilton Duncan Law Corporation
Emma Ferguson
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
9:10 - Recent Developments in Capacity and Knowledge & Approval
David Hunter
Hamilton Duncan Law Corporation
Dealing with capacity issues upfront
Determining capacity
What risks might the estate planner have?
Recent examples from a litigator’s perspective
10:00 - Questions and Discussion
10:10 - Morning Break
10:25 - Beneficiary Designations
Jennifer Eshleman
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
Common issues to keep in mind
Beneficiary designations creating resulting trusts
Separation agreements
11:15 - Questions and Discussion
11:25 - Planning for Clients with Assets in Multiple Jurisdictions
Rose Shawlee
Boughton Law
Maria Starko
Boughton Law
Importance of jurisdictional planning
Don't let the hubris about the magnificence of the British Columbia system allow you to make a global plan
Keeping in mind the tax residencies and US status of your control people
12:15 - Questions and Discussion
12:25 - Lunch Break
1:25 - Special Planning Considerations for Blended Families
Emma Ferguson
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
Relevant family law principles
Considerations for Wills, including testamentary spousal trusts
Planning for the family residence
Alter ego and joint spousal trusts for blended families
Use of joint tenancies in planning
Use of family law agreements
2:15 - Questions and Discussion
2:25 - Afternoon Break
2:40 - Planning for Health Care and Other Support Needs
Audrey Jun
Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry
Martina Zanetti
Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry
Section 7 and section 9 representation agreements
Section 7 inclusive approach to capability
Health care consent, advance directives, other expressions of wishes
Alternatives to committeeship / adult guardianship
The Nidus Registry and the Nidus Resource Centre
3:30 - Questions and Discussion
3:40 - Faculty Roundtable – Common Traps and Avoiding Litigation
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Estate Planning? What are the Dangers?
How to Deal with the Family Cottage?
What is Fair? Does Fair Mean Equal?
Multiple Wills?
How much power should you give in a Power of Attorney?
4:40 - Questions and Discussion
4:50 - Chairs’ Closing Remarks
5:00 - Program Concludes
Meet the Co-Chairs
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Partner, Hamilton Duncan Law Corporation, Surrey, BC
David Hunter is a partner of Hamilton Duncan and Co-Chair of the Estate and Trust Litigation department. David has a civil litigation practice with a primary focus on estate and trust litigation. He represents executors, trustees, attorneys, beneficiaries, and other individuals in all levels of court in British Columbia.
David has experience in a variety of estate and trust-related disputes, including undue influence and capacity claims, construction and variation of wills and trusts, determination of spousal status, and contentious matters of estate and trust administration. He also advises executors and trustees in the administration of estates and trusts, as wells as clients concerned about elder financial abuse.
David joined Hamilton Duncan in 2011 after practicing with a national law firm in Vancouver. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 2003 and his Bachelor of Laws in 2007, both from the University of British Columbia. Prior to his call to the bar in 2008, David served as a law clerk for six judges of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. In his spare time, David enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife and twin boys. David has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Trusts and Estates since 2020.
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Associate Counsel, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver, BC
Emma Ferguson is a member of AHBL’s Wills, Estates + Trusts Practice Group. Emma has a broad wills, estates and trusts practice. She advises clients on all aspects of estate and incapacity planning, including wills, alter ego, joint partner and family trusts, powers of attorney and healthcare representation agreements. Emma also advises clients on the administration of estates, including applications for grants of probate and letters of administration. Emma regularly presents on topics related to wills, estates and trusts and family law, and has a particular interest in the intersection of these two areas of law. She is a member of the Canadian Bar Association (Wills, Estates and Trusts, and Family Law subsections); Vancouver Bar Association; Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners; and Estate Planning Council of Vancouver.
Meet the Faculty
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Executive Director and Lawyer, Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry, Vancouver, BC
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Shareholder, Boughton Law, Vancouver, BC
Rose is a member of our Wills & Estates and Individual Tax Planning Groups. She brings more than 15 years of experience to her practice, which is primarily focused on assisting families and businesses with their planning, succession and reorganization, estate, and business needs.
She strives to make life’s inevitabilities, death and taxes, less daunting a topic for clients while being alert to the complications these raise from a legal, family, tax, probate fee, and cost perspective.
There are many tools offered by the legal system to achieve estate planning and business succession intentions, but rarely are all of them necessary. Rose’s objectives are two-fold: ensuring that clients are aware of the various tools, while at the same time making sure that problems aren’t over-solved by implementing mechanisms that aren’t proportionately practical or offer limited cost-benefit.
Rose is a regular contributor (as presenter, author, and editor) on topics of estate planning, estates, corporate freezes, and trusts for the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC and the Pacific Business & Law Institute. She also provides community learning seminars in respect of personal planning, estates, and business succession and tax planning.
Rose has been recognized by her peers and included in Best Lawyers in Canada since 2022 for her expertise in Trusts and Estates.
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Associate, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver, BC
Jen is a member of AHBL’s Wills, Estates + Trusts Practice Group. Jen’s practice focuses on the area of wills, estates and trusts. She enjoys assisting individuals in their unique estate and succession planning needs, advising on wills, trusts, incapacity planning and other tools to effectively provide for beneficiaries and minimize post-mortem conflicts. Furthermore, Jen helps guide executors and administrators in navigating probate and estate administration matters. Jen also enjoys building relationships with clients as they incorporate their businesses and supports them through their businesses’ life cycles.
Jen has received her designation as a recognized member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). She is the past chair of STEP, for which she frequently contributes to publications, and is an active member of the Canadian Bar Association. She also has experience teaching wills, estates and trusts courses for the Okanagan College’s Continuing Education Program.
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Associate, Boughton Law, Vancouver, BC
Maria Starko is an associate in Boughton Law’s Wills, Trusts, and Estates, and Personal Tax group. She graduated from the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law in 2023, where she consistently earned Dean’s List recognition throughout her academic career. Maria was called to the BC Bar in September 2024.
During her time in law school, Maria received several notable awards, including the Soby Boyden Lenz Scholarship in Family Law and the Nicholas S. Rafferty Conflict of Laws Course Prize. She also earned the STEP Canada Law Prize in Estate Planning and Trusts, underscoring her strong academic performance in the field.
Maria has gained practical experience in estate planning, corporate transactions, and estate administration during her time as an articling and summer student with a regional firm. She has also co-authored several legal publications on trust and estate matters, demonstrating her knowledge and commitment to her practice.
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Director of Programs and Lawyer, Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry, Vancouver, BC
Registration Form
Program:
Estate Planning 2026: Key Issues and Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Date:
February 12, 2026
Location:
Live webinar - online only!
Registration:
The registration fee is $990.00 plus GST of $49.50 totalling $1039.50 for webinar attendance. Registration fee covers your attendance at the program and electronic materials.
Early Bird Discount:
Register by January 12, 2026 and receive a $100 discount on the registration fee ($890.00 plus GST). Discounts cannot be combined.
Group Discount:
Register four persons from the same organization at the same time and you are entitled to a complimentary fifth registration. Discounts cannot be combined.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form and email it to registrations@pbli.com:
Payment:
You may pay by VISA, Mastercard or cheque. Cheques should be made payable to the Pacific Business & Law Institute and mailed to Unit 2-2246 Spruce Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 2P3. Please do not send cheques via courier with signature required.
When and Where:
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The program starts at 9:00 a.m. (PST).
Materials:
The faculty will prepare papers and/or other materials explaining many of the points raised during this program. Materials will be distributed electronically. Please contact us at registrations@pbli.com if you are unable to attend the program and wish to purchase a set of materials.
Cancellations/Transfers:
Refunds will be given for cancellations (less a $60.00 administration fee) if notice is received in writing five full business days prior to the program (February 5, 2026). After that time we are unable to refund registration fees. Substitutions will be permitted. We reserve the right to cancel, change or revise the date, faculty, content, availability of webinar or venue and transfer in-person registration to webinar registration for this event.
To register by phone:
Telephone us: 604-730-2500
Your Privacy:
We will keep all information that you provide to us in strict confidence, other than to prepare a delegate list containing your name, title, firm and city for our faculty and the program delegates. We do not share our mailing lists with any non-affiliated organization.
Course Accreditation:
Attendance at this course can be listed for up to 6.5 hours of continuing professional development credits with the Law Society of BC. For practitioners in other jurisdictions, please check your governing body’s CPD requirements.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form (DOWNLOAD FORM) and email it to registrations@pbli.com (*This form is for registrations of 5 or more and cannot be combined with any other promotions/discount codes.)
For individual registration, please continue with form below.