Kimberly A. Whaley Founding Partner

Kimberly is the Founding Partner at WEL PARTNERS. She practices in the areas of Estate, Trusts, Fiduciary Litigation including Power of Attorney Disputes, Guardianship, Claims for Support, and Elder Law. Kimberly also mediates estate, trust and related matters.

Kimberly is designated as a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law by the Law Society of Upper Canada and is recognized as a leading practitioner by Chambers, Lexpert, Lawday, Best Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell and Canadian Lawyer. Kimberly has held various board and executive positions with the OBA and CBA and is Past Chair of the CBA Elder Law Section and Chair of the OBA Elder Law Section. Kimberly is a frequent lecturer and has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, Queens University and Western University. View profile

Bryan Gilmartin Partner

Bryan Gilmartin is a Partner at WEL Partners where he practices exclusively in the areas of estate, trust, power or attorney, capacity, and guardianship litigation. Bryan joined WEL Partners as a Summer Student in 2018 working throughout his law school years. Upon his graduation, he returned as an Articling student and then as an Associate following his call to the Ontario Bar in 2020. Bryan has worked on matters at all levels of court, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. View profile

Nima Hojjati Partner

Nima is a Partner at WEL Partners. He practises primarily in estate, trust, and capacity litigation at both the trial and appellate level. Nima completed his Juris Doctor at Queen’s University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2018. Prior to joining WEL Partners in 2022, Nima practiced at a litigation boutique where he gained extensive experience in professional liability, appellate litigation, and mental health law. Nima is fluent in French and Farsi and he continues working on his Mandarin and Japanese. View profile

Rebecca Betel Lawyer

Rebecca joined WEL Partners as a Lawyer in October of 2021. Prior to joining WEL Partners, Rebecca articled at a full-service law firm in downtown Toronto where she gained extensive experience in wills, trusts, estates and litigation. Rebecca obtained her B.A. from York University in 2012, her M.A. from the University of Ottawa in 2016 and her J.D. from Western University in 2019. Rebecca was called to the Ontario Bar in June of 2020. View profile

Evan Pernica Lawyer

Evan is a lawyer at WEL Partners where he practices in all areas of estates litigation. Evan completed his Juris Doctor at The University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2020. Prior to joining WEL Partners in 2022, Evan practiced at a litigation firm where he gained extensive experience in wills, trusts, capacity, and estates. Evan also articled at a full-service law firm in downtown Toronto where he gained experience in trusts and estates, family law, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency, shareholder disputes, commercial real estate, and construction law. View profile

John E. S. Poyser Senior Litigation Lawyer

John is a Senior Litigation Lawyer with WEL. He has been a lawyer since 1987 and, over the last twenty years, has limited his practice to matters arising out of gifts, wills, trusts and other wealth transfers. He obtained his Ontario call to the Bar in 2016. He is also licensed to practice in Alberta and Manitoba. His Ontario practice through WEL is limited to estate litigation. He challenges and defends the transfer of wealth by will, gift and trust, and provides consultations to lawyers from other firms who are pursuing legal action in those areas. View profile

Mark Handelman Firm Counsel

Mark Handelman, Firm Counsel, was called to the Ontario Bar in 1978. Until 2001, he practised law in London, Ontario, including civil litigation, criminal defence and prosecution. He was one of Ontario's first members of the Official Guardian Child Representation Program. Mark was appointed to the Consent & Capacity Board in 1998 and became a Vice Chair and Senior Lawyer Member in 2000. View profile

Albert H. Oosterhoff Firm Counsel

Albert Oosterhoff, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law at the Western University, Firm Counsel, has taught at: the University of Windsor and Western University in the areas of Wills, Trusts, and Property Law. He taught Trusts for a number of years as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto. He also held positions as Associate and Acting Dean at Western. Professor Oosterhoff has been in private practice and has written numerous articles, comments and books in the areas of Wills, Estates, Trusts, and Property Law. View profile

Gabriella Banhara Articling Student

Gabriella joined WEL Partners as an Articling Student in September of 2023. Gabriella recently completed her Juris Doctor at Queen’s University. Before joining WEL Partners, Gabriella was a summer student at an international tax boutique in New York City. During this time, Gabriella developed an interest, as well as experience, in estate and trust matters. At Queen’s University, Gabriella co-founded a volunteer club called Volunteers for Mental Health and Addiction (VMHA) assisting vulnerable people in the Kingston community. This has given her a deeper understanding of issues faced by elderly people. View profile

Brett Book Articling Student

Brett joined WEL Partners as an Articling Student in August of 2022. Prior to joining WEL Partners, Brett completed his Juris Doctor at Thompson Rivers University where he was a member of the British Columbia Law Schools moot team and President of the Black Law Students Association. Brett received his Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brock University and his Post-Graduate Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Humber College. Throughout his schooling, he volunteered with the Good Shepherd and the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, two experiences which he attributes his passion for helping vulnerable persons with legal issues. View profile

Oliver O'Brien Student

Oliver joined WEL Partners in October of 2022 as a Student. Oliver holds a Masters in Law from University College London, a Qualifying Law Degree from the University of Kent (United Kingdom) and has recently completed his Legal Practice Course from the University of Law, London. Oliver has a particular interest in wills and estates, as well as the relationship between law and medical ethics, including end-of-life decisions, capacity and consent. Legal areas that play an important role in family life. View profile

Birute Lyons Law Clerk

Birute has over twenty-five years of experience in the legal profession as a law clerk administering estates, preparing/managing power of attorney and estate accounts, and providing cost-effective and personalized paralegal services. View profile

Bibi Minoo Estate Clerk

Bibi has been working with Kimberly Whaley since 2002 in the capacity of Estates Clerk and Administrative Assistant. Bibi earned her stripes working for the Ministry of the Attorney General for over 13 years. She started in the accounting department of the Sheriff’s Office, where she was responsible for all accounts receivable and payable. She then transferred to the Estates Department, where she worked under the direct supervision of the Registrar for more than 10 years. View profile

Tracey Phinnemore Law Clerk

Tracey joined WEL Partners in September 2018 as a Law Clerk bringing over 25 years experience as a law clerk specializing in estates, trusts and tax. View profile

Lisa Tracey Office Manager

Lisa Tracey is the office manager of WEL Partners. As office manager, Lisa oversees all non-legal services provided within the office and is responsible for the operations of the Firm. Lisa has over 20 years of office management experience in the areas of finance, human resources, and facilities.

Christin Craig Client Relations Coordinator

Christin has joined WEL Partners upon graduating with Honours from the Law Clerk Program at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology. Christin brings her experience working at Intake and Reception for Legal Aid Ontario. She is our first point of contact for new client related inquiries.

Charlie, Office Puppy

Charlie is the newest addition to WEL. An Australian Labradoodle, Charlie joined the firm in October 2019. Charlie will oversee all things puppy.