Rose M. Demelo Johnson

About Rose M. Demelo Johnson

Rose M. Demelo Johnson helps individuals, professionals, business owners and families spanning several generations put estate plans in place, with an eye to keeping estate administration and income tax to a minimum and protecting the people who matter most to them. A partner at Gowling WLG, Demelo Johnson works out of the firm's Waterloo Region office and acts for clients right across Southwestern Ontario.

Business owners are a big part of the practice. Demelo Johnson builds corporate succession plans that pass family wealth, and sometimes the running of the company itself, to the next generation without disruption. That work draws on a background in mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, tax-driven reorganizations and professional corporations, so owners can see issues coming before a sale or handover. Best Lawyers has recognized Demelo Johnson since 2025, in Corporate Law and in Mergers and Acquisitions Law.

Planning for incapacity is another focus, with powers of attorney and trusts used to set up substitute decision-making. Estate trustees also turn to Rose for help with every stage of administering an estate. Complicated family dynamics, often emotional ones, are familiar ground. Called to the Ontario bar in 1996, Demelo Johnson has belonged to STEP Canada since 2014.

Outside client files, Demelo Johnson speaks regularly about estate planning to financial institutions, at private client events and to people involved with charities. Rose joined the board of Parents for Community Living in September 2022 and sits on its Governance and Board Process Committee. Past board seats include the YWCA of Kitchener-Waterloo, the Grand River Hospital Foundation and Junior Achievement of The Waterloo Region.