Meet The Team

Gordon VanderLeek, TEP

FOUNDER & Managing Partner

VanderLeek Law’s main practice areas are wills, estates and trust law. Gordon serves and the founder and Managing Lawyer. While his focus is on planning, Gordon also enjoys the process of resolving disputes regarding estates or for guardianship and trusteeship when the family is not in agreement as to who will be the decision-maker for an incapacitated family member. He has handled routine court appearances at the Court of King’s Bench, special chambers hearings which have ranged from half-day to multi-day with witnesses, as well as having appeared at the Alberta Court of Appeal.

Gordon enjoys making the complex area of estate law simple when he presents in webinars and seminars. He has presented and is a member of such organizations as the Canadian Bar Association / Wills & Trusts Section, the Society of Trust and Estate Planners (“STEP”), the Estate Planning Council of Calgary and Legal Education Society of Alberta (“LESA”). Gordon is a member of the Executive of the Wills and Estates (South) section of the Canadian Bar Association. He received the “Trust and Estate Practitioner” designation by membership in STEP in 2019.

He is a father of 5 adopted children, 3 of whom have long term disabilities. Gordon has been a frequent speaker on the topic of Estate Planning for families that have children with special needs, including topics of trust planning, AISH rules, Registered Disability Savings Plans, to name a few.

In the fall of 2009, the firm established a division named “Disability Advocates”, led by his wife, Annie. The focus of Disability Advocates is to provide support services to families with special needs children in such areas as guardianship and trusteeship applications & reviews, AISH applications and appeals, Disability Tax Credit applications and reviews, educational supports and general advocacy.

Gordon is a co-host of the podcast “Estates Made Simple” which was launched in 2023 with his co-host, Jenna Carvalho, the founder of Guardian Estate Company. The goal of the podcast is to simplify the complex subject of estate administration for executors and administrators in Alberta.

Annie VanderLeek

Disability Advocate

Annie VanderLeek is a Disability Advocate with VanderLeek Law. She helps individuals with disabilities, and families of children with special needs, through the often overwhelming process of applying for the supports they’re entitled to. Her work covers the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) funding, Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs), the Disability Tax Credit, and school and employment supports. She guides clients from the first application through to complicated appeals. She also helps families understand how the new ADAP program affects them, whether they are applying for the first time or moving over from AISH.

Annie also works in guardianship and trusteeship. She supports families whose young people are moving into adulthood, as well as families of adults who have lost capacity later in life. She helps them get the court orders and authority they need to make decisions on a loved one’s behalf, and she assists with reviews of existing orders.

Annie believes that good decisions start with good information. She is passionate about making sure individuals and families clearly understand their options, so they can choose the supports that fit them best, whether they are seeking help or providing it. She knows that advocating for a loved one can feel like a lonely battle, and she works to share that burden so no family has to face it alone.

Annie loves her work. She finds great joy in empowering individuals and families to know their rights, find their voice, and secure the supports they need to live full and meaningful lives.

Michaela Summers

Associate Lawyer

Michaela joined VanderLeek Law as an Articling Student in May 2021. She was called to bar in June 2022 and is now an Associate with VanderLeek Law. Prior to attending law school at the University of Calgary, Michaela worked as a disability support worker, research assistant at the Child Development Centre, and website content manager at a private wealth management office. It was working at a wealth management office that initially sparked her interest in trusts and estate planning. Michaela is a volunteer lawyer with Calgary Legal Guidance and holds the Trust and Estate Practitioner (“TEP”) designation.

Preyanka Prasad

Associate Lawyer

Preyanka is a lawyer at VanderLeek Law whose practice covers all aspects of estate law, along with guardianship and trusteeship. She helps families with estate planning, estate administration and, when needed, estate litigation.

Before joining VanderLeek Law, Preyanka practised at a prominent global law firm in insurance defence and management-side labour and employment law. That background gives her a strong foundation in advocacy and in resolving disputes.

Preyanka earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Saskatchewan in 2021 and was called to the Saskatchewan and Alberta bars in 2022. In law school, she received the 2021 Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association prize for trial advocacy. She also volunteered with Pro Bono Students Canada’s Wills Project. Before law school, she earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary, where she was on the Dean’s List.

Preyanka was born and raised in Calgary and is happy to be back home near the mountains. Outside of work, she loves to travel and has visited 30 countries so far. She also writes poetry and hopes to publish her first collection soon.

Lindsay Wigglesworth

Associate Lawyer

Lindsay is an associate lawyer at VanderLeek Law; her practice includes estate planning, estate administration, trust planning and guardianship and trusteeship work. With a background as a civil litigation legal assistant, she has enjoyed the shift to a client-focused area of the law.

Lindsay is approachable and easy to talk to, and her practical approach serves her well as she supports clients and helps them through the estate planning process. When not at the office, Lindsay is occupied with more hobbies than reasonably fit into one sentence (but may include knitting, reading, baking, hiking, weaving, to name a few).