Associate

Krista L. Vaartnou

Office

Victoria

Key Practice Area

Estate Planning

Year of Call

2017

Qualifications

Education

Krista joined Farris in 2017. Her practice focuses on advising charities and non-profit organizations, and trust and estate planning.

Krista has experience advising British Columbia societies, federal not-for-profit corporations, organizations created by statute, and all kinds of registered charitable organizations. Krista provides a broad range of legal services to non-profit and charity clients, including: incorporating and obtaining registered charitable status, regulatory compliance matters including representing clients to the Canada Revenue Agency, strategic advice to not-for-profit boards, governance reviews, director and officer liability, member disputes, risk management, corporate policies, charitable trusts, gifting agreements and endowments.

Krista also assists clients with charitable gift planning. She works with clients to develop appropriate planning strategies to meet unique client needs.

Krista earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in 2010. She then completed a Master of Arts degree in Modern European History at the University of Calgary in 2013 before entering law school. Krista earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Calgary in 2016, and articled with a multi-national law firm in Calgary before returning to the West Coast. She was admitted to the Alberta Bar and the British Columbia Bar in 2017.

Prior to entering the legal profession, Krista worked for not-for-profit organizations, public institutions, and a private family foundation.

  • Former Co-Chair of the Charities & Not-for-Profit section of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch
  • Member of the Law Society of British Columbia and the Law Society of Alberta
  • Member of the Victoria Bar Association
  • Former Director of BC Museums Association
  • Former Board member of City Opera Vancouver