Kimberly A. Whaley, Founding Partner

Kimberly Whaley, CS, TEP, LLM, QArb, is the Founding Partner at WEL Partners. She has practiced in both litigation and mediation in the areas of Estate, Trust, Fiduciary, Wealth Succession, Power of Attorney, Property Gifting, Fiduciary Accounting, Guardianship, Dependant Support, Elder Law disputes and the related interplay of capacity, undue influence, and equity since 1999.

Kimberly is the recipient of the 2026 OBA Award for Excellence in Elder Law, and the 2024 OBA Award of Excellence in Trusts and Estates Law. Kimberly is designated as a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law by the Law Society of Ontario and is recognized as a leading practitioner by Chambers & Partners Private Wealth Disputes, High Net Worth (Canada), 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 received her Certificate from the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society (TCAS) Gold Standard Course in Commercial Arbitration in April 2026. Kimberly is designated as a Qualified Arbitrator (Q. Arb.) by the ADR Institute of Canada (ADRIC). Kimberly is a certified Neutral of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Ontario Chapter. Kimberly is an International Fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Kimberly is a Co-editor of the Estates and Trusts Journal, Carswell, Thomson Reuters Canada. 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, Co-Managing Partner

Bryan Gilmartin, TEP, is a Co-Managing Partner at WEL Partners where he practices exclusively in the areas of estate, trust, power of 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. HE has since joined the partnership and co-manages the firm alongside Kimberly Whaley. Bryan has worked on matters at all levels of court, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, and frequently mediates trust and estate related disputes. View profile

Nima Hojjati, Partner

Nima is a Partner at WEL Partners. Nima is an experienced trial and appellate litigator with a practice focused on estates, power of attorney disputes, contested capacity issues, fiduciary duties, mental health law, and constitutional law. Nima has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario, and he regularly advocates at the Toronto Estates List. Nima completed his Juris Doctor at Queen’s University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2018. Nima is fluent in French and Farsi. View profile

David Postel, Partner

David Postel is a Partner at WEL Partners, where he brings years of experience as a general civil litigator, deep knowledge of court rules, and exceptional written advocacy. He acts for clients on the Estates, Civil, and Commercial Lists throughout Ontario in trusts, estates, and related matters. Succession and family wealth disputes over control of closely held businesses are a particular focus of David’s practice. David’s experience includes a broad range of business and commercial litigation, from oppression applications and partnership disputes to ancillary tort claims involving fraud, defamation, negligence, and conspiracy. Before joining WEL, David practised for roughly 10 years at a leading Chicago law firm and a top Toronto litigation boutique. David received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 2016. View profile

Emily Caza, Lawyer

Emily is a Lawyer at WEL Partners. Emily completed her Juris Doctor at Queen’s University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2025. Prior to joining Wel Partners, Emily completed her articles at the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, where she developed a keen interest in guardianship and capacity law and gained experience in estate and trust litigation. View profile

Oliver O'Brien, Lawyer

Oliver is a Lawyer at WEL Partners. He holds a Masters in Law from University College London, a Qualifying Law Degree from the University of Kent (United Kingdom) and has completed his Legal Practice Course from the University of Law, London. Oliver was called to the Ontario bar in 2025 having joined WEL Partners in October of 2022 as a Student.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

Alycia Park, Lawyer

Alycia is a lawyer at WEL Partners. She earned her Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2025 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2026. Prior to joining WEL Partners, Alycia completed her articles at an estates and family law boutique in Toronto. During her articles, she gained experience in estate litigation, including guardianship applications and complex estate disputes, as well as estate administration and estate planning. View profile

Mark Polese, Lawyer

Mark is a lawyer at WEL Partners with a wealth of experience with in-court matters and disputes. He earned his Juris Doctor from Queen’s University in 2022 and completed his articles before being called to the bar in British Columbia in 2023. Before joining WEL Partners, Mark practiced criminal defense law in Vancouver, BC, where he honed his skills as a litigator both inside and outside the courtroom. 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

Grant Swedak, Lawyer

Grant is a Lawyer at WEL Partners with experience in estate litigation, estate administration, and estate planning. Grant earned his Juris Doctorate from the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University, prior to which he attended and received his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Queen’s University. 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

Jaclyn Holdsworth, Articling Student

Jaclyn is an Articling Student at WEL Partners. Jaclyn has five years of experience working at research organizations dedicated to empowering local and global stakeholders to make research-informed decisions. She is a graduate of the McMaster Ars & Science program and earned her Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School, where she completed a year-long placement as a caseworker in the criminal law division at the Community and Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP). Jaclyn assists with WEL’s many ongoing files and initiatives. View profile

Jessica Homer, Articling Student

Jessica is an Articling Student at WEL Partners. She holds a Global Professional Master of Law Degree from the University of Toronto and a Qualifying Law Degree from the University of Law (United Kingdom). At WEL Partners, she is excited to strengthen her knowledge in estate, capacity and trust matters together with a team of experienced practitioners. 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.

Samantha Henderson-Whaley, AI and Systems Integration Coordinator

Sam joined the firm in 2025 developing this new role. Sam coordinates WEL Partners' AI and technology platform projects including training, development, sourcing, and internal compliance. Sam has a BA (Hons) in SASAH (School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities) and Criminology from Western University; a MA in Law from University of Bristol; and an MA in Publishing from University College London. View profile

Charlie, Office Pup

Charlie is our beloved office Australian Labradoodle. She joined the firm in October 2019 and oversees all things puppy.