Elena Hoffstein is engaged in personal tax and estate planning, family business succession planning, wills and trusts, corporate reorganizations, marriage contracts and charities and not for profit law. Elena also represents clients in both contentious and non-contentious estate litigation matters including will challenges, mental capacity matters, applications for advice and direction of the court and passing of fiduciary accounts.
Elena has been ranked by Lexpert as one of the most frequently recommended Toronto private client and charity law practitioners and as one of the top 500 lawyers in Canada. Martindale-Hubbell has given her a rating of AV. In 2006, she received the Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Trusts and Estates in recognition of her leadership and contribution to estates and trusts law. Elena is also a recipient of Lexpert's prestigious Zenith award for business law and business of law.
Elena articled with the firm in 1978-79 and returned in 1980 after being called to the Bar and became a partner in 1986. She is director of the Toronto office's Wealth Management and Charities practice group.
Honours and Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada 2011 as a leading practitioner in Tax Law, Trusts and Estates
- Ranked as Most frequently recommended in the fields of Charities/Not-for-Profit-Law and Estate & Personal Tax Planning in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2010, 2011
- Martindale-Hubbell ranking: AV
- Ranked as Highly recommended lawyer for private client matters by Practical Law Company
- Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Trusts and Estates in recognition of leadership and contribution to estates and trusts law (2006)
- Appointed to BMO Retirement Advisory Council
- Recipient of Lexpert's prestigious Zenith award
Community Involvement
- Member, BMO Retirement Advisory Council
- Member, Planned Giving Committee SickKids Foundation
- Member, Planned Giving Committee Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation
- Member, Planned Giving Committee St. Michael's Hospital Foundation
- Past Director, The Clarke Institute of Psychiatry Foundation (now called the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
- Past Director, Canadian Mothercraft Society
Membership/Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
- Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFÉ)
- Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP)
- Canadian Bar Association and member of Executive Committee Charity and Not-for-Profit
- Section and member of following sub-committees:
- Probate Fees Committee
- The Canadian Bar Association (Ontario)
- Charities Committee
- The Canadian Bar Association (Ontario)
- Trusts and Estates Section Subcommittee making submissions with respect to proposals to amend the Family Law Act (1994)
- Canadian Centre for Philanthropy
- Canadian Tax Foundation
- Estate Planning Council of Toronto
- Family Firm Institute (FFI)
- International Academy of Estate & Trust Law
- Law Society of Upper Canada (and former head of section of Estate Planning and Administration, Bar Admission Course) and following sub-committees:
- Sub-Committee of The Law Society of Upper Canada commenting on Bills 108, 109 and 110 (substitute decision-making and consent to treatment)
- Professional Standards Sub-Committee
- Ontario Bar Association (past chair of Charity and Not for Profit section, currently on executive committee)
- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (and currently on Toronto executive committee)
- Advisory Committee to Attorney General (Ontario) on Hague Convention on the International Recognition of Trusts