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Mary B. Hamilton
Associate Counsel

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Biography

Raised in Penticton, British Columbia, Mary Hamilton is associate counsel with Davis LLP and has more than 20 years of experience in matters relating to wills, trusts and estate administration. She has held senior positions with the various wills, estates and trusts groups in Vancouver and is currently a member of the executive of the Estate Planning Council of Vancouver.

Ms. Hamilton advises clients about their estate planning and using wills, trusts and other vehicles (including charitable giving) to minimize taxes on death. Her advice is sought by successful business owners concerned about ensuring an effective transition of their business from one generation to the next and by wealthy individuals concerned about benefiting their offspring in a responsible (and tax-effective) way.

Ms. Hamilton spends a significant part of her time advising executors, administrators and trustees about the probate process, administration of estates and trusts, and helping them pass their accounts. She also advises about incapacity - preparing powers of attorney, nominations of committee and representation agreements and advising attorneys, committees and representatives about their roles and responsibilities.

Ms. Hamilton lectures frequently to client groups, to lawyers, to the charitable sector, and to the public on topics pertaining to wills, estates, incapacity and charitable giving.

Professional Experience

In addition to her many years of practice at Davis LLP, Ms. Hamilton spent a few years away from the firm at The University of British Columbia advising about charitable gifts and estate and trust administration before returning to practice at the firm. Her experience has contributed to Davis LLP's significant practice in charity law advising both charities and donors regarding present and deferred gifts, the terms of endowments and the ongoing administration of gifts.

Recognition

Publications & Seminars

• Ms. Hamilton and her colleague, Peter W. Bogardus Q.C., wrote Wills Precedents - An Annotated Guide (first published by the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia in 1998 and updated most recently in January 2008). The book and its regular updates are valued by the legal profession and considered by many to be a key resource for wills precedents in British Columbia.
• Ms. Hamilton co-authored "In Trust" for Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network ("PLAN") and presents seminars regularly for PLAN members.
• Ms. Hamilton (together with colleagues at the firm) also co-authored the "Planned Charitable Giving" chapter for the CLE publication British Columbia Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation and annotated the Estate Administration Act for the recent CLE publication Annotated Estates Practice 2007-2008.
• Ms. Hamilton is sought after as a speaker at seminars and conferences where she is typically asked to speak about estate planning involving wills, trusts and charitable giving. She frequently conducts seminars about estate planning to support and advocacy groups for individuals who have family members of a mental disability. Ms. Hamilton has volunteered her time providing these sorts of seminars for numerous special interest groups including: PLAN, the Developmental Disabilities Association, the Vancouver Richmond Mental Health Network Society, the Alzheimer Society of B.C., and the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society. She has also conducted estate planning sessions at retirement planning workshops for diverse groups including National Judicial Institute, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, UBC faculty and staff, Retired Principals and Vice-Principals Association of BC, Workers' Compensation Board of BC; City of Vancouver, United Food and Commercial Workers Union; BC Hydro; Vancouver General Hospital and the Vancouver Port Authority.
• Ms. Hamilton taught the law of succession at The University of British Columbia Law School for several years in the 1990's. She has also written and co-written estate planning, trust and estate administration materials for a variety of organizations including VanCity, the BC Medical Association and PLAN.

Volunteer Work

• Member, Planned Giving Advisory Group - Vancouver Foundation (2009 - present)
• Parent representative member of the School Planning Council of Eric Hamber Secondary School (2005 - present) and past member of the School Planning Council of Edith Cavell Elementary School (2003 - 2006)
• Former Governor, Chartered Accountants Education Foundation of British Columbia (2005 - 2008)
• Parent volunteer, Vikings Summer Swim Club (2005 - present)

Other Activities

• Executive Member, Estate Planning Council of Vancouver
• Past Member, Succession Law Reform Project Committee of The BC Law Institute
• Past Chair, Estate Administration Subcommittee, Succession Law Reform Project of the BC Law Institute
• Member and past chair, Wills and Trusts (Vancouver) Section, BC Branch, Canadian Bar Association
• Member, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
• Member, Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Vancouver Roundtable
• Member, Vancouver Bar Association
• Past member of several advisory committees creating and editing course material, booklets, or precedent documents for the Continuing Legal Education Society and the Professional Legal Training Course of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Education

• LL.B., Dalhousie University Law School, 1986

Place and Year of Call

• British Columbia, 1987

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