Bio
Crista provides sophisticated and practical legal guidance for clients and their families as they navigate life’s transitions. Her creative solutions address both legal and personal matters, leaving her clients feeling confident, informed, and in control of their futures.
The leader of the firm’s estate, trust and taxation practice groups, Crista is a trusted advisor in matters of estate planning, administration, trusts and estate litigation. She was recognized in 2020 as one of Canada’s Lexpert® Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40, an award given to those who have made outstanding contributions in their careers thus far. She has worked with many of Alberta’s business leaders and their families to develop innovative, strategic, and comprehensive solutions for their estate plans or to tenaciously advocate for their interests with estate related disputes.
Crista’s estate planning practice has a focus on assisting with the intergenerational transfer of wealth in privately held corporations. She enjoys advising her clients with respect to devising estate plans that will create a lasting legacy. She is regularly engaged in transactional work to provide advice regarding trust law and the utilization and application of trust structures in complex commercial regimes. Crista has assisted numerous executors through the administration process, including providing assistance when claims are made against the estate.
When litigation arises, Crista’s extensive knowledge in estate and trust law allows her to be an effective litigator both in and out of the Courtroom. She draws upon a wide breadth of litigation experience to achieve favorable outcomes, even in the most contentious disputes. Notably, she is a lead counsel in longstanding and complex litigation relating to a First Nation’s Trust. Crista has been involved in numerous estate litigation matters including those relating to elder abuse, entitlement to family farms, support for dependent family members, variation of trusts, challenges to the validity of a will and executor negligence. Crista has a particular interest in matters pertaining to the validity of a will when capacity is an issue and protecting vulnerable persons who have fallen victim to elder abuse.
Recently called to the bar in the Northwest Territories, clients in the North can now also benefit from Crista’s extensive knowledge and experience.
Crista recognizes that the resolution of estate and trust disputes requires both legal acumen and compassion. She understands that this is a sensitive and difficult moment for her clients, often with profound ramifications. With a compassion-first approach, she listens carefully to her clients to gain a clear understanding of their family dynamics, goals, and concerns. Her informed, well-considered, and candid advice allows them to positively move forward.
An engaged member of the Edmonton community, Crista is the current co-Provincial General of the Friar’s Ball and a former board member of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Fringe Theatre Adventures. Additionally, she is an executive in the Canadian Bar Association Wills and Estates Section and frequently presents on Estate and Trust matters.