Michael Sinclair

B.A., LL.B.

SHAREHOLDER
*Legal Services provided by a Law Corporation

Michael carries on a practice in family law and estate litigation. His family law practice involves division of property, custody, access and support issues. His estate practice includes disputes that arise before and after death dealing with wills variation, committeeship applications and undue influence cases. Michael is also a qualified family and civil mediator.

Michael's practice in family law covers the full spectrum of files, from the preparation of cohabitation agreements while parties are together and amicable to files where the division of complex corporate holdings are at issue and files where parties have difficulty agreeing on support and parenting issues. The issue of support, like property division can be complicated by the intricacies of the law as well as tax issues and the corresponding effect on retirement and estate planning. More often, files like these take empathy and an ability to appreciate what his client is going through, standards he aspires to. Most of his files settle by agreement but he has run trials in BC Provincial Court, Supreme court and appeared in the BC Court of Appeal.

The issues Michael deals with in his estate litigation practice build on his expertise in family law. These files are often complicated by trusts, tax and high animosity. His approach is to zero in quickly to the central issues at hand to properly allocate the necessary resources to tackle them in a timely manner. Like family law, estate litigation requires not only a detailed and thorough knowledge of law and court procedure, but also an ability to steer clients through a difficult period in their lives.

Michael enjoys the inherent challenges posed by his work and the opportunity to provide innovative solutions for his clients. He thinks it is particularly important to have an open mind and listen to his client’s concerns and by taking that client-centered and detailed approach he finds that he can achieve the best results. Ultimately, any case comes down to identifying established priorities and having a good strategy and he strives to assist his clients in developing both.

Michael also appears on behalf of certified patients appearing at the Mental Health Review Board in an effort to advocate for persons suffering from mental health disorders.

Outside the office Michael enjoys spending time with his family. Depending on the season he's camping with his family, mountain biking, or skiing on one of the local hills. He is also an active triathlete.