Melodie practices in the areas of tax law, with a focus on estate and trust planning, family owned business succession planning, planning for persons with disabilities and tax-driven corporate reorganizations. She strives to provide highly effective, approachable and accessible legal service to each of her clients, regardless of how complex or technical the issues might be.
When helping individual clients with estate and trust planning, Melodie helps with a wide range of issues, such as those that arise with blended families, high net worth, protection of family wealth, minimization of probate fees and income tax, among other things. Clients seek Melodie’s help with everything from straightforward transfers of modest estates to long-term structuring of family-owned businesses. Melodie is also well-versed in planning that involves multiple jurisdictions, including the cross-border estate and tax issues that are relevant to many of her clients.
Melodie makes it a personal and professional priority to serve clients who are disabled or whose family members have disabilities. Melodie assists clients with trust and estate planning strategies to ensure that a person with a disability receives the most appropriate financial care.
Melodie also assists businesses of all kinds, ranging from closely held single corporations to complex organizations with multiple shareholders to structure or reorganize in a way that meets their business, tax and/or estate planning objectives.
Melodie completed her Bachelor of Arts in psychology and criminology at Simon Fraser University before obtaining her Bachelor of Laws (with distinction) from the University of Alberta. She has the internationally recognized Trust and Estate Practitioner designation through the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners and has also completed advanced tax training through both the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Bar Association. She has been published in a leading Canadian legal periodical, the Real Property Reports, and is co-author of a chapter in a book on the protection of First Nations cultural heritage.
Melodie was raised in Kelowna and is committed to her community. She is a member of the Okanagan Chapter of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and served on its executive for several years. She is also a member of the Kelowna Estate Planning Society, the Kelowna Tax Discussion Group, the Kelowna Bar Association, and the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. She is a past director of the Okanagan Chapter of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise, Okanagan Xeriscape Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Okanagan, and past member of the Interior Health Research Ethics Board.
Outside the office, Melodie enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family.
*Providing services through a law corporation.